This Week's Special Guest Author Tim Smith

Tim Smith is an award-winning bestselling author whose books range from romantic mystery/thrillers to contemporary erotic romance. He is also a freelance photographer. When he isn’t pursuing those two careers, he can be found in the Florida Keys, indulging in his passion for parasailing between research and seeking out the perfect Mojito.

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If it’s the holiday season, it must mean it’s time for me to release another holiday romance. “Who Gets the Friends?” is now available through eXtasy books. This is a lighthearted romp with laughs and liberal doses of sex. What more could you hope to find under your Christmas tree?

WHO GETS THE FRIENDS? by Tim Smith

Two lonely souls get a chance to make their Christmas wish come true.

 When Tom Harris won back his freedom after a bitter divorce, he looked forward to getting a fresh start in life. What he didn’t realize was that his former wife had taken their mutual friends as part of the settlement.

He feared that he’d be alone forever until he met Jessica Mays, who was recovering from the loss of her one true love.

Can these two broken souls find some common ground to make a relationship work? Will Tom discover that there really is life after divorce?

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The story is loosely based on actual events from the life of yours truly. When I went through a divorce a number of years ago I made a shocking discovery – most of the mutual friends we had suddenly evaporated. Many of them stopped speaking to me and much like the protagonist in my story I had to start all over. Did I get my happy ending? Read the book to find out.

This Week's Special Guest Shane Filer

Shane Filer writes novels and comics. He lives in New Zealand with a very old Tonkinese cat. He likes oranges, orange juice, and orange furniture — in fact even the color orange. Why? Well, because it's the best color, of course.

While he believes that being a grown up is not all it's cracked up to be, he still enjoys ruining his appetite before dinner, and staying up past his bed time.

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Some births have a very long gestation period. In the case of EXIT its conception goes back to my lonely teenage years sitting in my bedroom listening to Joy Division and the Smiths, reading the poetry of Emily Bronte and the comics of Alan Moore while a poster of Ian Curtis watches down serenely from my wall. EXIT is a baby I have been carrying for a very long time. To take that analogy further if I am indeed EXIT’s mother, then its father might well have been Morrissey, Curtis, Bronte or Moore. Perhaps a literary Ménage à trois from all the above suitors. I was unfaithful. I forget. Perhaps I was drunk?

Of course novelists influenced me too, but these writers coming from the disparate fields of music, poetry and comics gave me something other than the obvious tools of story, plot and characterization: they gave me attitude, and an ideal for living. The conviction that you could write as yourself, even in a field where you were different. You didn’t have to follow trends or do what was popular at the time. You do what you do and do it well. It endures. I guess if you extrapolate that ideal then in life you should be yourself and hopefully people will like you and what you do, and if they don’t well at least you have been faithful to yourself.

EXIT came after writing an aborted (no pun intended) first novel which never quite held together or said what I wanted it to say. I think because throughout it I was finding my voice as a writer, and I remember looking it over and seeing that journey; there were bits that sounded like Alan Moore, bits like Anais Ninn, bits like a slice-of-life writer named Alice Hoffman who I liked a lot at the time, probably many other influences. But towards the end, it started to sound like someone else. Someone who wasn’t quite so easy to nail down.

By the time I had finished it I was sounding like myself. Of course I could have gone back and revised this first book, but by then another idea had hooked and taken my imagination to another place. The image of a lonely young Drew Barrymore-like girl standing in her room with her hands pressed to a glass window pane, watching the people pass in the world outside, but unable to go outside. This was the other thing I learned is a novel is such a commitment, you have to write not only something you know, but also something you must write, and have to share because you are the only one who will write this story. If you don’t it dies with you.

So how does it feel now it’s about to finally be published? Perhaps a little sad. Because if the book is my child, and in a sense it is, then I have learned as all parents must face one day, that the child will leave, it will no longer be theirs. It never was. It belongs to the world.

EXIT now belongs to the world too.


EXIT by Shane Filer

When your mind is your best friend, and your own worst enemy...

"Did you know I spent the whole of my fifteenth year in my room?"

Briar’s impromptu, mid-afternoon confession stirs up distant memories of the lonely time she spent trapped in her home; suffering agoraphobia — fear of open spaces.

Now it’s six years later.

She’s free, but the year's isolation has left serious personality disorders; disorders which will resurface as she relates her own story, and that of those in her orbit; Melodie, a pretty valley girl who Briar desires to be, Justine, her oldest friend, who has her own dark secret, and Dermot, a man who thinks he's the reincarnation of Robin Hood — stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

Slowly Dermot begins to draw Briar into his ever-so-exciting world, but who is leading whom on their slow descent into crime? Duel periods of Briar’s life intertwine like a rope around her neck as her lost year begins to overtake the present. It leads her to the answer to one very simple question:

“Is it what I always feared — am I losing my mind?”

BUY THE BOOK   ***   BUY IN KINDLE   ***   READ THE EXCERPT   ***   WATCH THE VIDEO

Shiloh Walker's The Protected Tour

THE PROTECTED by Shiloh Walker

FBI Psychics # 4

AN ASSIGNMENT SHE CAN’T REFUSE
Agent Vaughnne MacMeans would do anything to avoid setting foot in Orlando again. But her new assignment, keeping tabs on a psychic kid who may or may not be in danger, is forcing her right back to the city where her sister was murdered. And the Special Agent in Charge isn’t taking no for an answer.

AN ATTRACTION HE CAN’T DENY
Protecting the boy Alex is a priority for Gus. Gus may not understand the boy’s “gift” but he just knows that some people would kill for it. When a beautiful stranger moves in next door, his impulse is to take the kid and run. But Gus has learned never to flee without a plan, and besides…she doesn’t exactly look like an assassin.

A GAME THEY’LL PLAY FOR KEEPS
When some dangerous people from Gus’s past catch up to him and Alex, it’s too late to run. His cute neighbor is the last person he thought he could turn to, but Vaughnne isn’t just cute. She’s fearless. And she’s the only chance Gus and Alex have left.

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Enter to win a prize pack from Author Shiloh Walker… prizes will include:

$50 GC to either BN, BAMM or Amazon

Signed copies the previous FBI Psychic books, including: The Missing The Departed The Reunited Hot In Handcuffs (includes the novella The Unwilling)

A Download of The Unwanted

A signed copy of WRECKED, a contemporary from Shiloh Walker

A tote bag

A notebook

Bath goodies from LUSH cosmetics

A signed copy of Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh

A unsigned copy of Games People Play by Shelby Reed

…and more stuff may be added as the days go by

….visit www.Shilohwalker.com for details

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This Week's Special Guest Blogger - Ava Snow

Ava Snow didn't always like to read. Her love for books came along at a time when she needed to get away from everyday life. Now she has a couple book cases and a storage unit with boxes full of books. Reading just about any genre will make her happy but when she got a hold of Shayla Black, Lora Leigh, Maya Banks, and Lori Foster to name a few, BDSM has become her most favorite.

Writing never crossed her mind until some very special people pushed her. Now she’s got the bug and with the encouragement of some dear friends and a wonderful family she hasn’t looked back.

Ava lives on the east coast with her two almost grown children. She loves almost all kinds of music, dancing, action and horror movies, to cook and bake. All those things centered around a good book. If she’s reading don’t interrupt you might get hurt. LOL

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I was drawn to short erotica by my love for reading and a foray into role play. I saw these wonderful stories being written out on Facebook and my first thought was WOW!! I got lost in the stories. The writers just drew me in and never let me go. I saw an advertisement for an open role; thought why the hell not. I asked about the role, was given a chance to write and I haven’t looked back since. Meeting some wonderful people through these pages, they gave me loads of encouragement to write a short. I wasn’t sure I could write a full length novel. The one thing I kept hearing was, “You can write a short story, you write that in one SL. What could it hurt?” So I said what the hell, sat down at the computer and wrote the story that was running through my head. I found that I enjoyed putting to paper the voices I heard in my dreams, giving them a life of their own. They made me smile, cry, laugh. Now I find that I love writing the shorter stories. When my son sees me at the computer lately he says, “Are you writing another story?” I just smile, nod and continue with the new passion I have found.

My first story was published at the beginning of this year and the only time I was happier was when my kids were born. The reception I received was humbling and made me proud that I listened. Since then I’ve had two more published; Love Unbound, the second in the House of Doms series and Governmental Affairs, a collaboration with my fabulously awesome friend Cleo Taurus. I’ve also finished the third House book and working on a Dragon shifter short.

Someone asked me what a day in my writing life was like. All I could say was that it varies. If it’s during the week I only get a chance to write in the evenings when I get off work. I come home, talk to my kid then get comfortable at my desk and put to paper what has been running through my head all day. If it’s on the weekend and I don’t have any running around to do, I spend hours at my desk writing. Everyone has to fend for themselves.

I never thought I’d write a story let alone write one with someone else. The experience of writing with Cleo is like none other. She kept me on my toes and we talked, laughed and cried the whole time. I do believe you’ll see that in our story. We are working on the second installment and I believe it may be better than the first.

Speaking of Cleo, here she is to tell you about her love for writing.

 

I’ve always loved to write, and I couldn’t stop even if no one ever bought another story of mine. I write for me, for the hole inside me that only gets filled when I’m in the middle of a great story! My characters talk to me; I can feel their hearts beating as sure as I can hear my own. I laugh when they laugh and when they cry, so do I. I love nothing more than sitting down in front of a blank screen and filling it up with words. When Ava came to me and said ‘hey, let’s write a book!’ I was so happy to! I have been a big fan of hers, and more importantly, she’s a true and great friend. We worked together so well, it was as if our boys in the story Governmental Affairs couldn’t talk fast enough! 

We knew almost immediately, that this needed to be a two partner. The way our heroes loved, fought, and struggled with the obstacles they faced just trying to be and stay together was too big for just one story. People who’ve never written with a partner miss the sheer joy of having someone else to bounce ideas off of. With Ava and myself, we could and did talk about everything, and that’s the way a true partnership should be. Ava and I love our boys, and we hope, you all will as well. 

Look for the all our books from Horny Devil Publishing anyplace you get e-books are sold. 

In love with books her entire life, making the transition from reader to Author was a risk Cleo Taurus was, until recently too scared to make. It took a group of close dear friends who believed in her enough to give her the courage to give it a try. Cleo's characters are all drawn from real life experiences, only the names have been changed to protect her from them if they ever found out! (lol) An avid photographer, lover of the outdoors, with an active and quite naughty imagination sometimes, Writing fills a void in her life. Cleo writes for Cleo, and that the fans like what she does is the cherry on top of a great big banana split. Please feel free to look her up on Facebook, under Cleo Taurus. Leave a comment, ask a question, whatever you feel like doing!

 

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This Week's Special Guest - Tory Richards

Tory Richards describes herself as a grandma who likes to read and write smut. She's also a mother, daughter, aunt, sister, friend and author. After losing her soul mate of seventeen years, and retiring from Disney, she moved in with her daughter and her family. Sharing her woman-cave with four felines whose main goal in life is to get as much hair onto everything that they can. So far they're doing a stellar job!

Tory has been writing since the dawn of ages, which for her began in 1955. She discovered at the ripe old age of ten that she liked writing stories, beginning with pen and paper until receiving her first manual typewriter at thirteen. Shortly after boys and life got in the way and her typewriter and many unfinished stories got pushed to the back of her closet.

The years went by, blah, blah, blah, until the day arrived when Tory bought her first computer. She took up writing again, updated many of her yellow-paged stories, and submitted to a publisher after her family encouraged her. She just wanted to shut them up, really! And the rest, as they say, is history. Tory's first book Cupid's Arrow, under her real name Debbie Wallace, was on the publisher's best sellers list for two consecutive months! The end.

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Hi folks!

I’m so happy to be here! July 15th marks the release of my 20th ebook, Bishop’s Angel.  When my first book became published in 2005 I never dreamed that I would reach this milestone. I don’t believe it’s a goal any writer sets, as who knows what life will bring, or what kind of distractions get in the way. During the years that followed 2005 I’ve had a best seller, attended the 2009 Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention,  bought and sold several homes, traveled to Europe, experienced the joy of becoming a grandmother twice,  lost my mom and hubby, retired from Disney, and moved in with my daughter and her family.

Even though Bishop’s Angel is book #20 for me, I have two other books coming out this year. My next one is Burning Hunger, book #3 in a trilogy I hadn’t really planned. It began with A Perfect Fit, and continued into a second book, Surrender to Desire. Too many readers had written me after reading A Perfect Fit, asking for stories on the other two brothers in book one.  If you haven’t read any of the stand alone, erotic romances, the Evans brothers, Beau, Blake and Chaz,  are triplets. The heroines in the first two books are ladies with curves.

My first paranormal, The Mating Ritual should also be out later in the year. But I’m here to talk about Bishop’s Angel today.  In celebration, from 7/14-7/16 ONLY, get a free copy! Details on how are below.

1 – sign up for my newsletter, you can find the form at the top of the page on my blog - http://www.toryrichards.com/

2 – like my new facebook fan page,

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tory-Richards/111597422277528?ref=hl

3 – leave your email addy, and a comment telling me you’ve done both, on the Bishop’s Angel release day post on my blog - http://www.toryrichards.com/

Blog – http://www.toryrichards.com/


BISHOP'S ANGEL by Tory Richards

After ten years of sacrificing everything for his country as a Navy SEAL, Bishop is looking for salvation, and a little something more permanent in his life.

Angel, a pretty kindergarten teacher, thinks she's just what he needs. Their chemistry is instant, and explosive, only Bishop has trouble letting go of his commitment to his country.

It's up to Angel to prove there's room for her in his future.

BUY THE eBOOK   ***   READ THE EXCERPT   ***   WATCH THE VIDEO

Excerpt –

“The police are on the way, ma’am. Where is the intruder now?” the operator asked.

Angel listened for a moment. “He’s still in the kitchen.”

“Is the intruder male?”

“No, no!” Angel said, and then quickly lowered her voice when she realized she’d spoken too loud. “I don’t know if it’s a woman or a man.” She’d been too afraid to look when she had the chance. Movement coming from the kitchen told her the intruder was still there, but for how long? She was crouched at the end of the couch, too afraid to turn around, frightened that at any moment she would be discovered. “Please hurry!”

“They’re on their way. Stay calm and—”

 “I think he’s in the room with me!” Angel’s eyes rounded with fear when she sensed someone moving up behind her.

“Ma’am stay on—”

Angel knew the intruder was behind her now. She stood up, whipped around and slammed her phone into the side of his head with a piercing scream. All she could make out was a tall, dark outline.

“What the fuck—” a male voice boomed.

Angel let out another scream and slammed her hands against a massive chest, shoving him away from her as hard as she could. Her only thought was making it back upstairs to the safety of her room until the police arrived, but the second her palms landed on the man’s rock-hard chest she knew she was in trouble. He stumbled back but she had a feeling it was due more to her catching him by surprise than the force of her push.

She scooted around him but suddenly his hands were on her, and for a moment they struggled against each other. Angel was hyped up on adrenaline and a strong sense of survival, and she used her nails and teeth on the naked arms and powerful hands trying to subdue her. It gained her enough freedom to make it to the stairs but halfway up she found her ankle being grabbed, she fell, and then she was pinned beneath a heavy weight.

“No!” she cried out, struggling wildly against him. But she was no match for his superior strength and the honed muscles she felt beneath her hands. In no time his hands had wrapped around her wrists, and she was pinned against the stairs.

“Who the hell are you?” he demanded, his face too close to hers.

“Who the hell are you?” Angel demanded right back, twisting beneath him. It was then she felt cool air in places that she shouldn’t, reminding her that all she had on was a thin night-shirt and a pair of bikini panties. Judging by the super hard pecks she felt pressed against her breasts, her shirt had come undone, too. An insane thought crossed her mind, why he wasn’t wearing a shirt.  She wiggled wildly, unintentionally scraping her nipples across his flesh.

“Stop before you get hurt!” he growled. In an effort to subdue her he pressed his body against hers.

“Then get off me!” Angel hissed, arching her body in an effort to throw him off her. His muscled thighs and powerful legs flexed against hers, easily holding hers still.

“Not until you tell me who you are,” he grated in a rough voice.

His warm breath slapped her in the face. “I live here,” Angel said without hesitation, glaring up into his shadowed face. She was aware there was no way he could see her because it was too dark.

“The hell you do.”

How did he know that? “The police are on their way so I suggest you let me up and get out of here.” Her energy was beginning to wane. He was too strong and big, and the longer they remained like that, the more she began to feel uncomfortable with their intimate proximity.

“Good. Then we can get to the bottom of this.”

That wasn’t the kind of response an intruder would make if he were caught in someone else’s house. Maybe he was delusional or something. Angel decided to switch tactics. “These stairs are hurting me,” she said weakly.

Things grew still between them and she sensed his silent contemplation, as if he were wondering if he should believe her. She whimpered a little for good measure.

“Okay, I’m going to let you up, but don’t try anything stupid,” he warned.

The second he released her and lifted off her body, Angel got to her feet and dashed the rest of the way up the stairs.

“Son of a bitch!” he cursed behind her.

Angel slammed and locked her bedroom door in his face. She didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish, except to get away from him until the police arrived. What was taking them so long? She ran to one of the windows and opened it. Maybe she could push out a screen and—

Without warning her bedroom door was kicked in. She screamed and made a beeline for her connecting bathroom.

“Oh, no, you don’t.”

A muscular arm wrapped around Angel’s waist and she was lifted off her feet. “Let me go!” She wiggled and kicked, very much aware that her butt was against a very intimate part of his body. Burning heat replaced the fear flowing through her blood because his cock wasn’t as flaccid as it should have been.

“Look,” he slammed her down onto the bed and for the second time she found herself pinned beneath his superior strength. “Before this goes any further I think we need to talk.”

“You can talk to the police,” she panted, twisting beneath him.

“I intend to,” he said without hesitation. There was a confidence in his tone that surprised her.

Without warning he reached up and turned on the reading light at the head of the bed. How did he know that was there? Meeting eyes the color of blue topaz, everything in Angel froze, including her breath. Oh God, I know those eyes! She didn’t know the man personally, but she knew of him from the pictures on the fireplace mantle downstairs. He was Diana’s older brother, and Navy SEAL Bishop Strong. Suddenly everything made perfect sense.

After six years, he’d finally come home! 

Buy links      SMASHWORDS  ***  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

Thank you for having me today!

Tory

This Week's Special Guest - Barbara Clark

This week's special guest at the Tiki Hut is author Barbara Clark. Barbara stops by this week to talk about her paranormal romance series and to celebrate her 80th birthday with us!

"All dreams lie beyond defeat." That quote has inspired Barbara Clark to keep writing and creating new stories set in a variety of locations from California to a glittering penthouse in New York City, a working cattle rance in Arizona, the Sahara Desert, and the heat and danger of a Brazilian Rain Forest.

Writing as April Reid, her erotic romances plunge into fantasy worlds where dragons speak and magic rules. Her readers have come to expect deep emotions, simple joys, and heart-stopping peril in her award-winning books.

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DESERTS OF THE HEART By Barbara Clark

 Sons of Earth and Wind Book IV
 

Barbara calls this book her Romeo and Juliet in desert robes - with a happy ending.
 

When Prince Kadar Hamad learns the ancient sword stolen from his father's palace has been traced to a shop in Seawind, California, he goes there to reclaim it. As he questions the owner, Faith Webb, he's surprised by his attraction to this woman he thinks is dealing in stolen goods.
 

The last person Faith should allow into her orderly world is Kadar, a man who asks disturbing questions. From the moment he walks into her shop, he sets her unruly imagination dreaming, and expands her paranormal abilities.
 

Their quest for the magical sword plunges them into a world of danger and intrigue, and a trek across the burning, shifting sands of the Sahara Desert. As passion grows between these two strong-willed people, they learn that love can fill the empty deserts of their hearts.

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The idea for, Deserts of the Heart, came from several sources. One was my interest in the deserts of the world and the people who live there. Another was the character, Nicholas Kadar ben Hamad (ben means, ‘son of’), a minor character in other Sons of Earth and Wind books. Kadar, born in the ancient kingdom of Duraza in the Atlas Mountains, lived for 6 months a year with his father, the Sultan of the country, and 6 months with his American mother on his grandfather’s ranch in Montana.  

Faith Webb, like Kadar, was born in the Atlas Mountains in the ancient kingdom of Tafala, a neighbor to Duraza—two countries that had been divided by a blood feud for 150 years. When she was 3 years old, her mother, a princess of that country, left Tafala with her, and went to live in the USA. There her mother moved in with Blaine, the man Faith had thought was her father until her mother confessed the truth.  

Then Faith makes another shocking discovery. Her mother had stolen the ancient Sword of Light Kadar was trying to find. Not only that, but the tiny star birthmark in Faith’s hand means she was born, The Chosen One, with the ability to command the sword. 

I’ll let reviewers tell more: 

From Romance Reviews Today:

If you’ve never understood the appeal of being swept away by a handsome desert sheik, you’ve never come across Kadar Ben Hamad, the fascinating hero of Barbara Clark’s DESERTS OF THE HEART. While certainly tall, dark and handsome, his intelligence, self-confidence, strength of will, and  honor prove far more seductive to Faith…well, that and those mind-blowing  “what was my name again?” kisses. While both clearly feel the pull of  attraction, obstacles stand between them. Kadar’s past has made him leery of trusting all but a select few, and while instinct tells him Faith  deserves his trust, his mind fights to maintain barriers and protect his heart. Kadar’s lack of trust hurts Faith, and a lasting relationship between them seems impossible, even if she does survive her highly  dangerous self-imposed mission to repay a debt not her own by restoring the Sword of Light to its proper place. 

Adventure and intrigue abound as Kadar and Faith search for the missing sword even as they seek to evade capture, work to stop an assassination and attempt to suppress the overwhelming desire pulling them ever closer. Nicely paced, original dialogue and fresh narrative with flashes of humor balance the dynamic action-oriented scenes. 

 Leave the winter blues behind and immerse yourself in this delightfully romantic desert fantasy. 

 Sondrea Cash, Romance Reviews Today 

From Escape to Romance:

DESERTS OF THE HEART is a romantic story that takes you on a unforgettable  journey of love. The extraordinary situations set a fast pace for a plot that is powerful from the very first chapter. In this, the fourth book in the Sons Of Earth and Wind  series, Barbara Clark delivers yet another remarkable tale.

Tami Sutton, www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/clark-deserts.html

For more information, check out my website at: www.barbaraclarkbooks.com

~~~

~~~

When I sent the manuscript for Deserts of the Heart to my editor, she emailed back, “Are you going to do the brother, Jalil’s, story next?” 

I had to think about that because in the time frame, Jalil was still a student at the university and I needed him to be fully adult. I finally decided to set the story four years in the future at a time when Jalil had become the governor of Qasim, a province of Duraza. 

Rose, gifted with the paranormal abilities of psychokinesis—the ability to move things with her mind, and psychometry—the ability to learn facts about an object or its owner, has her own mysterious background.  

That’s how, Tears of the Desert Rose; Sons of Earth and Wind, Book V, was born. 

TEARS OF THE DESERT ROSE by Barbara Clark

Sons of Earth and Wind Book V 

After a four-years' absence, Prince Jalil walks back into Rose Maguire's life with an ancient scroll, containing information on the source of the legendary Tears of the Gods, said to have magical powers. Rose translates the scroll and tries to ignore her attraction to the one man who can upset her comfortable life and make her yearn for more.

Jalil's paranormal gift has shown him his country's future and his are connected to the mystical Tears. So he's sought out Rose, the one person who can translate the document—the American woman he can't forget, and should.

As they cross the burning Sahara Desert into perilous highlands and mountains, they're plunged into a world of intrigue and danger in which their courage, love, and growing paranormal gifts are tested beyond human limits.

BUY THE BOOK   ***   READ THE EXCERPT
 

~~~

I’ll let the reviewers tell more about the book: 

Here’s from Romantic Times BOOKclub:

Rose Maguire knew Jalil Hamad four years ago as a horse trainer and fellow college student. His exiled uncle Prince Tarif Hamad's arrival at her workplace in America reveals that Jalil is really Prince of Duraza. Tarif asks Rose to use her psychic ability to examine an artifact.

Rose feels she must honor his request, even though the knowledge she discovers is dangerous. Then Jalil shows up at the lab. Now Jalil and Rose embark upon a quest to find the lost mine of the Tears of the Gods, with Tarif in close pursuit. 

Tears of the Desert Rose is an excellent fifth installment in Clark's Sons of Earth and Wind series. The open acceptance of the hero's and heroine's psychic powers and their use and development throughout the story create some intriguing scenes. The finale is very pleasing…

—Susan Mobley, Romantic Times BOOKclub

 

Here’s from Word on Romance:

"...The author does a wonderful job of providing vivid descriptions, three dimensional characters and an edge of your seat tale. From beginning to end, Barbara Clark captivates her readers with suspense, action and to-die-for heroes. She is a truly gifted storyteller and an absolute favorite!"—Tami Sutton, Escape to Romance

"Every one of the books in this series has won at least one prize, plus other nominations. Friends of the series may now welcome another delightful couple. The delicate, protective love that Jalil and Rose have for each other, their dedication to taking care of those depending on them, their determined facing of Fate, all give Tears Of The Desert Rose an irresistible appeal."—Joy Calderwood, Word On Romance

 

Here’s from Fallen Angel Reviews:

Rose and Jalil embark on a magical adventure to be treasured by any paranormal romance fan. Full of adventure, excitement, intrigue, magic and romance, TEARS OF THE DESERT ROSE delivers everything one could wish for. The chemistry between Jalil and Rose is addicting and will pull in the readers right from the beginning. Each time these people face a new danger, they find the greatest power is their bond of love, and through that bond, victory is guaranteed.

The additional side stories of Rose’s true heritage is a wonderful addition to this gripping story. Why did the ‘voice’ call her the ‘daughter of the desert’ when her parents were simple archaeologists? Was there some secret with held from her? Only reading this story will tell you all the twists and turns to this magical woman’s past and the hope for her future.

 

TEARS OF THE DESERT ROSE is a recommended read for any paranormal romance fan. This is a part of a series, Sons of the Earth and Wind, but can stand alone easily. This was the first book of Ms. Clark’s this reviewer had read, but it certainly won’t be the last.

http://www.angelfire.com/tx6/fallenangelreviews/miriam11.html

 

Remember to leave a comment for your chance to win the box stuffed with assorted goodies.

WIN - Leave a question or comment anytime this week to get your name in the hat for a box full of of items from assorted authors--things Barbara picked up for this purpose at the RWA National conference this summer. Each box includes a tote bag, water bottle, and books. Barbara will also include an autographed copy of one of her books!

This Week's Special Guest - Barbara Clark

This week's special guest at the Tiki Hut is author Barbara Clark. Barbara stops by this week to talk about her paranormal romance series and to celebrate her 80th birthday with us!

"All dreams lie beyond defeat." That quote has inspired Barbara Clark to keep writing and creating new stories set in a variety of locations from California to a glittering penthouse in New York City, a working cattle rance in Arizona, the Sahara Desert, and the heat and danger of a Brazilian Rain Forest.

Writing as April Reid, her erotic romances plunge into fantasy worlds where dragons speak and magic rules. Her readers have come to expect deep emotions, simple joys, and heart-stopping peril in her award-winning books.

WEBSITE *** NEWSLETTER *** FACEBOOK *** TWITTER

Sons of Earth and Wind, Book III: A TOUCH OF FIRE by Barbara Clark

Here’s a description of the story: Security agent, Michael Forest, has given up his dreams of a wife and family. When he's assigned to protect Summer Morgana Starr, he's stunned by his attraction to her, an attraction he fights.

Summer, born with the ability to restore fiery lines of power deep in the earth's crust, risks her life each time she heals those lines. For her own safety, she should bond with a man of paranormal powers, but her heart has chosen Michael, a man without any psychic talents.

When a ruthless enemy from Michael's past puts Summer in jeopardy, Michael sacrifices himself to save her life and her sweet touch of fire.

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Winner 2001 Golden Quill Award, Paranormal Romance.

SimeGen 2002 Spring Reviewers' Choice Award Winner--Best Science Fiction Author

~~~

Often a character will inspire the story behind a new book. Michael Forest, a security agent for Hawk Adams’ Challenge Security Company, had been a secondary character in the first two books of the Sons of Earth and Wind series. Like Hawk and Quinn, he’d been a warrior in shadow wars with them. At one point, he’d been captured by a drug lord and tortured almost to death until Hawk and Quinn rescued him.

Brave and honorable, Michael deserved the love of a strong, compassionate woman. He found her when he was assigned to protect Summer Morgana Starr.

However, the last thing Michael should do would be to fall in love with a client. Not only that, but after he failed to save his younger sister and parents during a raid on an African village they were visiting, he never wanted to fall in love for fear of also failing that person. He fought his growing attraction to Summer.

~~~

I call this my, “Earthquake Book,” for two reasons: The heroine, Summer, has the ability to moderate earthquakes. Second, we were experiencing a swarm of earthquakes during the time I was writing it. Twice, I was seated at the computer when I heard the low rumble announcing an earthquake followed by the first rolling jolt. As the usual pattern of three distinct waves shook the house, the structure creaked and hallway doors opened and closed. The big file drawer in my computer desk rolled open—close—open—close. The movement of the earth rocked my chair back and forth with me in it.

~~~

The words for the opening passage came to me as I was driving home, and had a quick image of a woman, long hair blowing in the night wind, seated on a jumble of boulders at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean:

The night-bound land was crying.

Gritting her teeth against the pain in that deep-throated wail, Summer Morgana Starr sat on the ancient boulders high above the Pacific Ocean and tried to block the sound.

With her birth-gift, she  saw and heard the fiery streams of magnetism known as ley lines that pulsed far below the surface. Tonight, those lines were tangled where they should run free in ribbons of energy. 

Chaos throbbed deep in the earth’s crust. 

Waves roared against the rocky shore but didn’t drown the sound. Wind shuddered through broken cliffs but couldn’t mask the groans of basalt and granite under molten pressure. 

Early moonlight danced in silver power through the spray, but still the land cried. 

Five miles overhead, the lights of a jet airplane silently crossed the glittering field of distant stars. In the darkness below her feet, the ground lurched once more in protest. 

Summer, born with extraordinary gifts, sent a soothing touch deep into the wounded earth to ease the strain. It was all she could do for now. 

Her gifts and duty were to untangle and smooth the ley lines—to keep them flowing at full power, unobstructed. 

Tonight, the ribbons of fire deep beneath her were too strong, too damaged for her to restore without help. She had to wait for added strength from the power of the moon and earth working together. 

She pushed her unbound hair from her face and struggled with the knowledge that a unique man’s true love and passion would give her the necessary strength without waiting for the balance of sun and moon energy. 

Ancient family tradition taught that only a man born with a psychic connection to earth or the moon could blend his power with hers to protect her and give her abilities the greater potency. 

In spite of that knowledge, her heart had chosen another, a man without a known psychic link. Even now, he stood nearby, guarding her from physical harm.

~~~

Several times, while attraction simmers and grows between them, Michael protects Summer from increasing danger.

As the book progresses, I used places where I’d been in many scenes. The story sweeps from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the low Anza Borrego desert, and high into the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

In each setting, the sensual and emotional attraction flares higher between the lovers until they reach that point where each one willingly puts his or her life on the line for the other.

~~~

What Reviewers said:

A TOUCH OF FIRE is book three in the exceptional Sons of Earth and Wind  series. A strong storyline, well thought out characters and a scenic backdrop combine to  create a page turner. Barbara Clark has given her fans another sensational story. 

-- Tami Sutton

www.escapetoromance.com/reviews/clark-touch.html 

A Touch Of Fire is the third book in Sons of Earth and Wind series and probably my favorite so far. Through the series you have glimpses of Michael’s true heart. He would bring baby roses to Quinn’s daughter, Brianna. Michael would also let Alex, Hawk and Charity’s little boy chew on his expensive watch. No wonder Summer fell for him. She sees him as a warrior but also as a man that she loves and wants to heal the old hurts. Michael is the ultimate hero. If Barbara Clark keeps writing so well, Kleenex will never go out of business. I have to admit, this story made me cry, but in a good way.

Review by Megan http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=2534

~~~

You can find A Touch of Fire at: www.amberquill.com/TouchFire.html  It’s also at amazon.com, and BarnesandNoble.com 

Please remember to leave a comment so you can be entered in the giveaway.

Thanks,
Barbara

WIN - Leave a question or comment anytime this week to get your name in the hat for a box full of of items from assorted authors--things Barbara picked up for this purpose at the RWA National conference this summer. Each box includes a tote bag, water bottle, and books. Barbara will also include an autographed copy of one of her books!

This Week's Special Guest - Author Barbara Clark

This week's special guest at the Tiki Hut is author Barbara Clark. Barbara stops by this week to talk about her paranormal romance series and to celebrate her 80th birthday with us!

"All dreams lie beyond defeat." That quote has inspired Barbara Clark to keep writing and creating new stories set in a variety of locations from California to a glittering penthouse in New York City, a working cattle rance in Arizona, the Sahara Desert, and the heat and danger of a Brazilian Rain Forest.

Writing as April Reid, her erotic romances plunge into fantasy worlds where dragons speak and magic rules. Her readers have come to expect deep emotions, simple joys, and heart-stopping peril in her award-winning books.

WEBSITE *** NEWSLETTER *** FACEBOOK *** TWITTER

You know how—when you’re a child—special days seem to creep up too slowly? Then once you’re an adult, time slips by faster than a three-year-old playing, “You can’t catch me.”

Today I’m in a, “Where did the time go?” mode. Yep, I’m 80 years old today, on Halloween 2012.

I have to confess, until August of this year I had really begun to feel the growing years. I was already in my late 70s. I’d had a heart attack followed by a quadruple heart bypass in 2005. My knees have very little cartilage left in them with a few bone-on-bone places. And just to make life interesting, I’d suffered a mild stroke in late 2010, which affected my typing and my balance enough so I needed a cane when I was away from the house.

 

It had taken months to retrain my fingers and brain so they worked together well enough to start writing again. I finally sent the manuscript for a long novella to my publisher and it came out in early 2011. 

While I’ve gone to cardiac rehab for years; walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes, lift weights, etc., my balance was still wonky and I had noticed my concentration was not as sharp as it once had been. 

I remembered when I had driven my grandchildren to karate lessons years earlier. I’d waited there and watched them until my daughter came to get them after work. I began to wonder if I dared enroll in karate, but figured it would never happen. 

The last few years, I’d heard good things about American Martial Arts Academy from a friend. She mentioned they took on older students and would moderate lessons to a person’s needs. 

 I walked into the AMAA on August 6, 2012 for my first lesson private, half-hour lesson. My goals were to improve my balance, sharpen my concentration, and earn a yellow belt by my next birthday.  

I have to admit, I was frustrated when I couldn’t immediately do the strikes and blocks correctly. And kicks? No way, considering I’d walked into the academy needing my cane. My teacher patiently helped me build those skills. Instead of kicks, I did stomps. Even then, he had me hold onto a chair to keep my balance. 

Gradually, my muscles and brain began to learn those new moves, and, oh, the sense of accomplishment when they begin to click. By the second session, I found it easier to work barefooted. By the third lesson, I felt confident enough to park my cane in a corner. 

I told friends I was a Granny with a cane and a karate fist.  

Now I’ve had to modify that description. Since the middle of September I haven’t used my cane at all. My concentration is improving, and I received my yellow belt three weeks before my 80^th birthday. 

These days I’m working on the combined movements for the next step—an orange belt. That’s where the nose snapper I mentioned comes in. The strike is really called an ura-uchi (back-hand strike) but it’s a good way to remember it. 

Here’s part of the sequence of moves facing an opponent: Right hand does a straight-fisted strike above the head at an upward 45 degree angle elbow comes in right hand does a back-hand strike over the knee. Note: That’s where your knuckles connect with the opponent’s nose. 

Yes, I’m enjoying the karate lessons. I even signed up for a program they offer called, “The path to black belt.” I told a friend I’d probably be 85 by the time I reach level 1 of black belt. She said, “You’ll be 85 anyway.”  

Tomorrow I’ll tell about A Touch of Fire, Book III in the series.

WIN - Leave a question or comment anytime this week to get your name in the hat for a box full of of items from assorted authors--things Barbara picked up for this purpose at the RWA National conference this summer. Each box includes a tote bag, water bottle, and books. Barbara will also include an autographed copy of one of her books!