Addiction can come in many forms. A domino effect can ripple and ruin an entire family. Many times there are such faint warning signs, that they are missed or masked by the addict who’s filled with shame, self-loathing, and fear. This loved one will go to any length to perfect a façade of nothing being wrong. And there are times when the person who’s failing to succeed has no idea why or has suppressed pain and trauma so deep down just the thought of dealing further compounds the situation. Almost every family has one member who has an addiction or an addictive personality. We see it all the time. No one knows until an autobiography is written or a documentary is done. The fallout is immediate, but putting back together the broken pieces is a long painstaking process that takes strength, courage and the will to live.

Whatever the addiction be it alcohol, drugs, food, sex, etc. There is always help.

The Price of Defiance is about a young woman who self-destructs by choices she makes. Her choices have a cataclysmic effect on those around her. Much like a heroine junkie, she’s gets off on a rush that is created by her own body. No external drug but an internal receptor in the pleasure center of the brain gives her a high that is equivalent to a heavy street drug dosage. She’s an adrenalin addict and unlike professionals her amateur and illegal hobby—her dark hunger doesn’t care what gets in its path. There are no safety measures, no emergency personnel, just a bunch of young men and women in the dead of the night playing Russian roulette with their lives and those in the crowd watching them for social status and a purse full of cold hard cash. The cash is a secondary win. The major win is street credit and notoriety. She needs an intervention before death knocks at her door or manslaughter.

America Patterson loves living on the edge. Car model by day, illegal street racer by night, she’s known as the best. Except underneath her flawless façade lies a young woman filled with turmoil. When her hobby lands her in hot water, she finds herself handcuffed and bailed out by the one person who’d abandoned her….

MMA Fighter Alejandro Escovedo is summoned home after a tournament that had left him sore and questioning his career. Expecting a nice welcome home, he instead finds himself rescuing his best friend’s sister out of jail. This time he’s had enough.

Their explosive past gives him all the rights where America is concerned, and he is more than ready to take her on. By ending her daredevil ways and finding the trigger to her self-destructive behavior, will he convince her he’s back to stay or drive her further away?

Genre: Erotic romance, BDSM, contemporary

Warning—Adult Excerpt:
The shrill of her cordless phone disrupted her peace. Against her better judgment, she ducked inside to grab it and returned to her perch on the cushioned chair. “Hello. No, I’m not interested in commenting.” She hung up and frowned. On impulse she dialed Jayshaun’s number. “Hey…been worried ’bout you.”

“Yeah?” She sighed into the phone after hearing his voice. “I found out you went to jail, and Vincent said he sent Alejandro to get you. You good?”

“I’m fine.” She tipped her head back.

“You’re all over the net. I can’t believe you drove into a building. I almost died watching in slow mo. So how are things? Lover boy looked pissed fending off the piranha scumbags and their microphones.”

“Yes, Alejandro is back, and it’s complicated. Of course, he was angry—is angry. I’m not sure. He’s not here right now.”

“Good. Listen, there’s news of another race in a few weeks. Get well so you can win the purse. It’s double what you lost last race. You’ll want in on this. Drivers will be using escorts and scouts via Bluetooth. No one wants a repeat of this week.”

“You’ve got to be joking, right? I went to jail,” Amy hissed quietly into the phone. “Jay, I don’t even know if I have a job, or if I’ve lost my modeling contracts yet.” Once she heard the purse price, temptation hit her. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Look, let me think and get back to you.”

“Get back to who for what?” Alejandro cleared his throat to announce his presence.
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Why I Love Science Fiction

Many thanks to Delilah Devlin for letting me ramble on her blog today! Kithra is my debut novella with Samhain Publishing and I couldn’t be more excited about working with them. I’ll give away one e-copy of Kithra to a commenter.

My love for science fiction began early. I can’t remember how old I was when I first saw Star Wars, but I remember the incredible excitement I felt through the whole movie. I also remember slapping up posters of Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker right next to the one I had of Shaun Cassidy. (I liked big-eyed blondes apparently. Shaun Cassidy earned my sincere admiration for other reasons when I grew up and discovered he wrote American Gothic, which was a fantastic, spooky show.)

But, I will never forget the first time I watched Alien—glued to the screen for the entire movie, thinking Ripley was the coolest heroine ever. I loved Ripley even more when Aliens came out. Terminator and Terminator 2 were huge favorites. Around that time, I discovered Star Trek, The Next Generation and I raced home daily to catch the six o’clock episodes. Other favorite shows were Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Stargate, Alien Nation, Farscape, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Sliders, and of course, Doctor Who.

I find the idea of our future exciting. I wonder what the important issues will be as we continue to discover more in science and medicine. I wonder if we will conquer space travel and find other worlds with life similar to our own. I hope so. I also sincerely hope things like sexism, racism and homophobia disappear. Yeah, yeah, my idealism is showing. 😉

When I sat down to write Kithra, I wanted to write a future world that featured alien races living along with humans, with societies where any loving relationship is the norm… and my heroine sprang to life and no matter how many times I tried to curb her language or move her into the background, she stomped forward and took over. The story started out in 3rd person and I quickly realized it could only be 1st. Once I made that decision, her story just flowed. Yeah, Lux is foul-mouthed, but she’s also fiercely loyal and she has this soft, mushy center you’d think she’d try to hide, but she doesn’t. As I wrote the sequel, Replicant, her mouth and her compassion showed up to take over a few scenes—even as a secondary character. I’m on the third volume in The Kithran Regenesis series, and she’s showed up a few places and surprised me.

The heroes of Kithra, Kol and Egan, couldn’t resist her and I hope readers feel the same way. And if you like Kithra, Replicant is scheduled for March. Thanks again to Delilah for having me!

Voodoo Anyone?

Haven’t you dreamed of owning a Voodoo doll of your boss, or competition to stick pins in and make them suffer? Or were you ever in love with someone who didn’t love you and wish you had a potion to make them fall in love with you? I love to explore the possibilities Voodoo offers.

New Orleans Voodoo can find its origins in the ancient religions, rituals and beliefs of Africa and Haiti, add to it the healing arts the Native Americans, folk magic of Europe and a touch of Catholicism. People used it as a way to explain and deal with life. It has been used for good and evil, to heal and destroy.

It’s a rich part of the culture of New Orleans history and many parts of the south and provides a great basis for a series of stories grounded in New Orleans and the Atchafalaya Basin.

I based two of the stories I’d written on the use of Voodoo. NIGHT OF THE JAGUAR which is part of the MOONSTRUCK anthology with my dear sister, Delilah Devlin, and please help me launch the release of THAT VOODOO YOU DO today!

THAT VOODOO YOU DO is part of a collection of stories the Allure Authors dreamed up and will ultimately package in an anthology available in print. For now the stories are sold individually in e-format under the series titled Alluring Tales: Night Moves.

Check out the other Alluring Tales anthologies available in print, one of which is on sale now for only $1.99: Alluring Tales: Awaken the Fantasy at Amazon.com!

THAT VOODOO YOU DO

Weaving the right spell…

Determined to convince a rich heiress that the land she just bought should be left undeveloped, panther shape-shifting brothers use a little Voodoo to abduct her and bring her to the swamps to woo her to their side of the bayou.

Trapped in an unfamiliar world…

Catherine Boudreaux struggles to escape before she falls victim to the bayou’s allure and the magic the brothers weave over her.

Warning: Two hot panther shifters, one sassy heiress and the bayou will never be the same…

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That Voodoo You Do
by Myla Jackson

Catherine Boudreaux slid into the back seat of the limousine, dead tired and sick of all the push and shove of a night out in New Orleans.

James Roland, her so-called date, dropped in next to her, slobbering drunk, with hands and arms like a freakin’ octopus. Even before the chauffeur closed the door, James’s fingers ran over her body, slipping beneath her dress straps to pinch her breasts.

Sharp pain pierced her nipples. “James, no.” She pushed him away only to have him slide back, pressing her down against the leather seat.

“Come on, baby, you know you want some of this.” He rubbed hard ridge beneath his fly against her thigh, while sticking a wet, disgusting tongue into her ear.

The man worked out. He had a nice body, but he was arrogant, obsessive and annoying. Not to mention, he was stronger than she was and using that strength to his advantage.

“What part of no did you not understand?” she asked, struggling to stay ahead of his groping.

“Your lips are saying no, but your body is telling me yes.”

“I don’t know what translation you’re using, but you’ve got it all wrong.” She shoved both hands hard against his chest. “Let me up now, or I’ll have to get violent.”
Read the rest of this entry »

NaNo Day 2:
LR—13 words—edited and shipped to editor!
LH—1733 words

The winner of yesterday’s free download is at the bottom of this post!
Also, tonight I’ll be chatting live at Romance Reviews Today chat room.
Join me if you can! ~DD

NaNoWhat-Oh?

or “How to Write a Novel In One Easy Step”

Today is Day 2 of the National Nuttiness that is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Every November, thousands of writers across the globe band together to write novels. The objective is simple: write 50,000 words, and write them during the month of November: from Midnight-Oh-One on the first through Eleven-Fifty-Nine on the thirtieth, write and write and write. And write.

And write.

How is this useful? Or sane? And is 50,000 words of quickly-written stream-of-consciousness any good?

That’s not the point. The point is, to write the first draft of a novel. It’s a helluva lot easier to edit a novel if it’s written, and you can’t sell it if yeh ain’t written it!

The thinking behind it is sound – most of us have extremely well-developed Critics that love to ding us for grammar, spelling, turns of phrase, plotlines (or lack thereof), and anything else we might be daft enough to set fingers to keyboard. The point of NaNoWriMo, therefore, is to develop a good head of steam and let the momentum take you through (or around, under, over, or whatever) the Critic so that you can actually get through to the end: and, in the process, write a novel.

After all, ask any marathoner: it doesn’t matter if you win. It matters if you finish.

So, how do you start? Visit the website above, and sign up for an account. See if you can find others you know who are NaNo-ing (I’m a.catherine.noon), and add them to your friends list. Write a blurb for your baby novel, and maybe even share an excerpt – no, it doesn’t matter if the excerpt makes it into the final draft. The point is to have fun!

Next, find your home region. (If you don’t have one, use mine – ChiWriMo!) The regions host all sorts of events, including “write-ins” – events where writers gather to write together! It’s loads of fun, and nice to be around people who don’t glaze over when you start talking about the writing process. Then, write. Track your progress daily on the NaNo site, and git goin’!

Talk to you in December! I’ve gotta get my word count in!

A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder
Blog Website
Watch for BURNING BRIGHT, coming from Samhain Publishing September, 2011!

The winner of a free download of Stone’s Embrace is…Becky Ward! Becky, congratulations, and email me to arrange delivery of your prize.

The winner of the first grab bag of prizes from Romanticon is… Okay, so let me tell you what’s in the bag first. Or maybe, I should start by telling you that the bag itself is quite a prize. Because I didn’t get to sign books at Romanticon, I spent my time getting signatures from every single author there. Yup, the bag is cram-packed with signatures from the wonderful authors at Ellora’s Cave. Inside the bag, there are signed cover flats, pens, bookmarks, a trading card storage box, trading cards, pens, etc. Plus, I’ll be sure to send along some of my own “stuff”. The winner will enjoy combing through this big bag of cool junk and maybe be inspired to check out authors like Ann Jacobs, Koko Brown, Desiree Holt, Kaily Hart, Kathy Kulig, Kimberly Killion, Cerise DeLand, Delphine Dryden, Christine d’Abo, and many more. Okay, no more teasing. The winner of this grab bag of prizes is…Wendy Gregory! Wendy, congrats and email me!

Back to Jodi Redford…

First of all, I want to thank the fabulous Delilah for letting me come on her blog today. Seeing how she’s one of my fave authors, this is a major fan-girl moment for me. Once I got over the exuberant squee-fest going on in my head, I realized I actually had to decide on a subject for my post. So with no hesitation, my mind automatically veered toward my favorite topic—shape-shifters. Or more to the point, super sexy shape-shifters. It’s no secret that I have a love affair with paranormal romances, and the primal and often lusty shifter heroes—and heroines—who populate these magical, fantastical worlds. But what exactly is it about these characters that I and others find so appealing? Is it the wild, animalistic traits that encompass a shape-shifter’s persona that we’re drawn to? I can’t speak for everyone, but I find that whole growly, alpha thing immensely sexy, be it a werewolf, were-tiger, or dragon.

It was my quest to find the ultimate of alpha shape-shifters that led me to my most recent hero, Max Truitt, from Maximum Witch. When I first told friends and family I was going to write a shark hero, they thought I’d finally, officially lost it. A shark…hero? It was crazy. Insane. Even for me. Who in their right mind would think a shark could be heroic, much less sexy? Well, me, for one. Although the being in my right mind part might be debatable. Regardless, the more I thought about it, the more I loved the idea of Max. There’s something incredibly sexy and dangerous about a hero who could eat you for dinner—pun intended. The fun part about writing his character was taking his inner shark traits and twisting them for a sexier purpose than hunting down swimmers for an afternoon snack. For instance, Max shows an equal determination to make a meal out of the heroine, Willa, in this little snippet.

Who says getting eaten by a shark is a bad thing?

That Old Black Magic, Book 3

Willa Jameson is having one whopper of an identity crisis. Odd memory flashes that aren’t hers. A sultry voice in her head that’s obsessed with sex. Even weirder, she finds herself in the jaws of a rogue leviathan, dragged to the bottom of the ocean—and rescued by a hunky…shark?

The last thing Sheriff Max Truitt expects to find on his daily, deep-Atlantic patrol is a human—especially one who breathes underwater. Compelled to take her home, he waits for the beauty to wake up and reveal her name. Instead he’s treated to a punch in the nose, then a sexy romp hot enough to boil water.

The next morning, embarrassed by the sizzling, scandalous things the voice in her head drove her to do, Willa slips away. But if there’s one thing a determined shark excels at, it’s tracking his favorite meal.

Solving the mystery that is Willa is no simple task. When they finally unlock a dangerous secret hidden deep in her subconscious, it drives a wedge between them…and puts them in a desperate race against an evil that seeks to rain down a watery Armageddon on all mankind.

Product Warnings: This book does not contain sex with a puffer fish. There’s not even sex with a seahorse. However, there’s plenty of smoking-hot lovin’ with a shark. And even a steamy M/F/M threesome. So slap on your snorkels and swim fins, things are about to get wet and wild.

Max released his belt and lowered the volume on the radio before turning toward her. She figured her face must have displayed her sizable panic as he leaned close, invading her personal space. His nearness forced her to tip her head sideways, making her glasses slip. He removed them and set them on the front dash. A purposeful gleam lit his eyes as his focus dipped to her mouth. She swallowed. “Max—”

His hand cupped the nape of her neck, lightly stroking. “There’s no way you didn’t think I was going to kiss you.”

“B-but you already did.”

“That was nothing. This time it’s serious.” And with that preemptive warning, he claimed her mouth, his tongue easily coaxing past the barrier of her lips and meeting hers in a hot glide. There was no hesitation or fumbling in his kiss. Only the skilled determination of a male intent on making her melt into a quivering puddle of desperation. He sucked on her bottom lip, his teeth scraping gently.

Panting, she sank her nails into the softness of Max’s T-shirt, fascinated by the marked contrast to the hard muscles hidden beneath. “I—I meant it when I said I’m not falling into your bed.”

“Then take me home to yours.” His bristly jaw scuffed softly along her chin as he dipped his head and sucked the side of her neck. Sharp, pleasurable tingles burst beneath her skin, pebbling her nipples and throbbing within her clit. She squirmed and trembled, her body pulling tight. It was no mystery to her that the sensitive area Max had zeroed in on happened to be one of the most erogenous zones of her body, but how the hell did he know it?

“I…I—” She almost passed out from the devastating pleasure of Max’s mouth when his suction intensified. Her aching clit felt like it was going to explode. “Oh goddess.”

His thumb flicked over her distended nipple, using the friction of her blouse and bra to drive her higher. He lifted his head. “I want to make you come. Over and over. With my tongue, fingers, my cock. Until you lose count of the number of orgasms you’ve had. Say you want that too.”

“Max…” Her plea turned into an embarrassing mewl as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and index finger. She grabbed onto him, trying to drag him closer and increase the teasingly light pressure on her breast, but the bastard refused to budge.

“If you don’t tell me now, Willa, so help me I’ll stop. It’s all of you or nothing.”

She loves to hear from readers. You can email her at jodiredford@jodiredford.com and visit her online at www.jodiredford.com.

The winner of this week’s contest is named at the bottom of this post!

Hiya! I wanted to start with a quick word of thanks to Delilah for letting me come hang out on her blog today. She is one of my favorite authors, so it’s a big treat for me to be here. Damn, that gal can write!

I’m a huge fan of top ten lists, so today I thought it might be fun to share the top ten reasons why ebooks ROCK!

10 – Space in my House. Ebooks don’t call for real bookshelves, don’t need to be stored or given away once read, and they don’t need to be dusted.

9 – Novel vs. Novellas. Ebooks come in many lengths. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a quick fix, a short story to pass a few hours. Other times, I want a full-length novel, one that I can get lost in for an entire weekend. Ebooks offer both options…plus lots of sizes in between.

8 – Instant Gratification. I started reading the Twilight series late in the game. I finished New Moon at midnight one night and was chomping at the bit for Eclipse. Problem was the bookstore was closed. If I’d owned my Kindle back then, Eclipse could have been delivered to me wirelessly in less than thirty seconds and you better believe…I would have been pulling an all-nighter. Team Edward!

7 – Go Green. Ebooks don’t require that a rainforest be destroyed to make the paper to print them.

6 – The Ebook Community. Because they are tech savvy, I find ebook readers hang out online quite a bit. I’ve made some wonderful friends who share my love of erotic romance books through yahoo groups. Social networking through common interests. Love it!

5 – The Fabio Cover Factor. I’ll admit it. There were times when I was embarrassed to take a certain book to the checkout counter of the bookstore. I was one of those people would put the book upside down in front of the clerk and then blush when he flipped it over. There were even times when I didn’t buy a book I really, really wanted to read, opting to come back later. This usually occurred when the clerk was a student from my school. The beauty of ebooks is no one sees what I’m buying! Not even my husband. Go personal credit card!

4 – Travel Ease. In the past, I had to allow quite a bit of space in my suitcase for books, especially if it was a long trip. Added to that dilemma was the dreaded “You’re over the weight limit” line from the airline. With ebooks? I can take literally thousands of books with me on vacation and only add a few ounces to my luggage.

3 – Free Reads. There are lots of free read offers through ebook vendors. I’ve never seen this same deal with print books. I’ve discovered several really amazing writers through the free read program at Amazon. Since then, I’ve added some auto-buy authors, including Dominique Adair, Jess Dee, Anne Stuart, Lila Dubois and Jenna Bailey-Burke, to my reading lists, simply because I picked up one of their books for free. Would I have found them without the free read? Maybe. Maybe not.

2 – Cheaper. Ebooks are cheaper than print. In some cases, they are much cheaper. Because of the varying lengths, I can pick up ebooks anywhere from a couple dollars to around ten bucks. Considering I have shelled out as much as thirteen dollars for trade paperbacks and even more than that for hardback, I enjoy the cheaper cost of ebooks.

1 – Variety. There is a wide-range of ebooks out there. Erotic romance novels aren’t that prevalent in print, but in ebook format, the world is my oyster. I can find novels on a variety of the more taboo subjects. Ménages, BDSM, and m/m stories are but a single click away.

And…while we’re on the subject of ebooks, I thought I’d take a moment to share a bit of my latest release, Slam Dunk.

Who says you can only score on the court?

A story from the Black & White Collection.
Trey Donovan is mourning the end of summer with fellow teachers when Ellie Hunter walks into Tully’s Bar. Better yet, she’s now a former rival basketball coach and the newest science teacher at his high school. He can’t think of anyone better to fill the vacant assistant coach job. In fact, if he plays his cards right, she might end up his perfect match off the court, too.

If she stops holding him at arm’s length long enough to give him a chance.

Coming off a year of bad decisions that not only broke her heart, but cost her a job, Ellie has good reason to swear off workplace romances. Her undeniable—and undeniably mutual—attraction to Trey is a serious threat to her resolve. Especially since Trey’s too-easy capitulation to her boundaries stings just a little too much.

Funny thing, though. When she sees Trey dancing with someone else, the edges of her vision turn decidedly green. And when another man tries to kiss Ellie, Trey sees red.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to fudge the rules. Just a little. After all, casual sex doesn’t count. Right?
________________________________________
Product Warnings
Lots of red-hot, half-dressed court presses complete with sex toys, food, bubble baths, strip poker and, oh yeah, balls.

“Hey guys,” Cheryl called out as she walked into Tully’s. “Look who I found in the parking lot.”

Trey glanced up and, for a moment, he felt as if he’d been sucker punched. Ellie Hunter followed Cheryl and Lucas to the table.

Then Trey’s grin grew and he stood. “Take a wrong turn, Coach Hunter? Harper’s Ridge is on the other side of town.”

Ellie smiled, but before she could speak, Grace answered. “I invited her. We ran into each other at school today.”

Trey frowned, looking at Ellie. “Why were you at Preston?”

“I had a new teacher meeting to attend. I was checking out my classroom when I ran into Grace.”

Jamie looked at Grace. “Why the hell would you go to school on the last day of summer?”

Grace blushed slightly. “I wanted to work on my bulletin board.”

Lucas laughed. “Nerd.”

Grace threw a pretzel at Lucas’s head while the others laughed. Ordinarily Trey would have been amused by their antics, but he was too busy trying to wrap his head around the idea that Ellie “Hottie” Hunter was now his colleague rather than his competition. She looked smokin’ hot in short shorts and a T-shirt that showcased her perfect curves. Trey felt his cock stir.

“Here,” Trey said, grabbing a chair from an empty table nearby and placing it next to his. He suddenly felt the need to have Ellie in his space, close to him. “Have a seat.”
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Conquering Fear

by Renee Wildes

I am a true April Taurus—earthbound, practical, stubborn and temperamental. My life is ruled by fear. In true “bull” fashion, I tend to meet it head-on. It’s what drives me, not a weakness but a motivator.

I’ve always been a tomboy, preferring horses to boys growing up. I belonged to the Wilderness Challenge Club in high school (Wisconsin Academy in Columbus, WI). Whitewater rafting, caving, rappelling, canoeing. If it meant sunburn, mosquitoes and getting dirty—that was where you’d find me. Very glamorous stuff. Now, I’ve always been afraid of heights. Like—freeze atop a 6-ft ladder scared of heights. We won’t even mention airplanes. Sedatives. LOTS of sedatives…

So, the first time I went rappelling was at Devil’s Lake, from atop Devil’s Rock. Guarded by all manner of…rattlesnakes. Saw two, sunning on the rocks. So there I was on a snake-infested rock atop the world. Beautiful view. Wasted on a sixteen-year-old in a cold sweat. See, the secret to rappelling is to WALK down the rock face. Anyone who’s walked across a floor knows the easiest way to do that is to be perpendicular to the floor surface. So if the floor surface is almost entirely vertical, that means the walker gets to be the one who’s…horizontal. And that translates into standing backwards at the edge of a cliff, the true ground several hundred feet below, and LEANING back against a rope-and-nylon-harness-affair into thin air until you’re lying down on NOTHING—and then walk down the wall.

Sure. Uh huh. (Never said I was a BRIGHT kid. Well, okay, I was. Straight A nerd.) And Mr. Snyder was right there like some hairy bearded cheerleader from Buffy saying stupid things like, “It’s easy. You can do this. Nothing stops you. Just leeeeeean back and walk down.”

But it was my best friend stating “Don’t be such a chicken shit” that got me going. Okay, it took me 20 minutes of whimpering like a toy poodle in a thunderstorm before I leaned back enough to start walking. Reaching the bottom to more Buffy reject cheering felt like conquering Mount Everest.

That’s how I tackle life. I let fear motivate me into moving, defeating, conquering. It can either stop you or get you going. Being a Taurus, stubbornness gets me a long way through life. As a writer I try to let the quality bleed off into my characters. Set them up against a bad situation some would consider impossible, but the character just takes a deep breath, says “Who if not me?” and forges on to start, to try. And so the stories go.

In RIEVER’S HEART, the heroine Verdeen goes to the Icelandic-esque kingdom of Isadorykja with the hero, Daq Aryk. They have to climb a mountain and cross a glacier, and when a crevasse breaks open and an avalanche starts, she has to face her own fears:

They continued on. Rounding a clump of boulders like scattered marbles, Aryk paused and frowned as he eyed the path ahead. A fine latticework of ice crystals covered the surface, as if it had melted and refrozen. He crouched down, pointed to a jagged line transecting the snow. Valkyn studied it as well and nodded.

“What?” Verdeen whispered.

“Partial thaw,” Aryk replied. “Might’ve weakened this area. We cross above that line.”

“Spread out,” Valkyn advised.

They proceeded with caution. Verdeen watched Fiske. The dog’s fur stood on end as he sniffed the air and paced back and forth, stayed close to Aryk. Snow creaked and crunched underfoot, as if the Horn groaned at their intrusion. Verdeen shuddered. Ominous clouds crept across the sky. The dim light pressed like a physical weight against her. She tried to convince herself ’twas just her imagination, but the Horn no longer felt benign. It felt like ’twas waiting…

A sharp crack and Fiske’s startled yelp were the sole warnings as the snow collapsed beneath the dog’s paws, and he dropped. Verdeen choked down a scream as he disappeared into the ground. Aryk hurled himself to the snow, clutching the line. Slowly, he wound the line around his hands, drawing the dog back up with every coil. Verdeen didn’t dare move, scarce dared breathe, as Valkyn crept forward on his belly to the edge of the newly opened crevasse and grabbed Fiske’s harness when the dog came within range, hauling him back onto solid ground. The shaking, whimpering dog tottered over to Aryk, who wasted no time in yanking off his gloves and pulling the dog close enough to bury his face in Fiske’s red fur.

Verdeen’s heart thundered as Valkyn eased away from the treacherous opening. They’d almost lost Fiske. She’d gotten attached in just a few days. How much worse for Aryk, who’d raised him from a pup?

The sharp cracking continued. With a monstrous roar, everything on the lower side of the opening fell away, thundering down the slope in a wall of frozen white. They flung themselves to the ground as the slide fell away, shaking the Horn.

Aryk and Valkyn crawled over to her as the shaking stopped. Aryk reached across the snow to lay a reassuring hand over hers. She was grateful for the comfort as she clambered to her feet and looked down in dismay. Their way was blocked; too unstable to risk it.

BIO:
Fantasy Romance Author Renee Wildes writes the “Guardians of Light” series for Samhain Publishing. She lives in central WI with hubby, 2 kids, a calico cat, a black Chow, and 2 gray half-Arab mares. She still considers herself a tomboy, although she hasn’t hoofed it down Devil’s Rock in years. Nowadays, writing, reading and scrapbooking occupy her time—when she’s not prying her kids out of a tree or off the roof…

Riever’s Heart is out in ebook TODAY Sept. 27, 2011, from Samhain Publishing. Click on the cover to purchase.