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Archive for 'vampire'



Melanie Jayne: My Nightly Conundrum—To DNF or Not (Contest)
Monday, June 10th, 2024

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

Cue “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men to play in the background.

Besides writing romance, I am an avid reader. I try to read a book every two days.

Now, before you credit me with being a speed reader, I will admit that my husband and our bossy mastiff fall asleep early, so I have about three hours to read. I usually pick out a book and start after dinner with interruptions, and after the males are quiet, I can get my reading groove on.

Eighteen months ago, I decided to clean out my Kindle. I had books from 2012 that I had never read. So, I made a deal with myself:  read one old and then two new (published in 2023 or later) to make a dent in the TBR list.

For years, I finished the book no matter what. After I started publishing, I felt like I had to hang in and finish a book as a sign of commitment to the writing community.

However, life is too short for bad books.

I felt guilty for not finishing. I’d message my friends and defend my decision not to finish as if the “Kindle Police” were going to report me for having DNFs (Do Not Finish).

Then, I started to notice more people talking about not finishing books. What once had been a somewhat taboo topic was discussed openly.

I have reasons for not finishing. The first is if I find five proofreading/editing mistakes within the first three chapters. Authors are taught that the first three should grab the reader’s attention. So, misspellings, incorrect word usage, or poor grammar causes me to stop.

Recently, I’ve come across three published books where I believe the authors forgot to tap “Accept Changes” before uploading the manuscript and pressing “Publish.” These were not intentional cross-outs—no, they were unnecessary extra words. Again—DNF.

This is a hard rule for me—if the pet dies. I won’t finish and most likely won’t read anything else by the author. True story:  I almost dumped a friendship because she sent me a book where at the end, the dog died. I still feel upset about the poisoned pet, and I never read another book by that author.

Excluding Dark Romance, another stopper for me is when a main character is written to be so ugly and hateful that I can’t believe that they are worthy of love. There are times that I think that authors intend to create a strong, outspoken character and instead, they read as a total jerk. I try to keep toxic people out of my life, so I’m not letting them in my reading.

Filler. I accept that some stories are shorter than others. What makes me quit a book is when the author stretches out the tale with multiple-page passages in another language, recounts a prior scene two or three times, and repeats the same reasons for why the couple won’t work. I have a running joke with a friend about a series that we both love. In each book, the couple has officially committed and marching to their HEA. The author adds a final kidnapping, an explosion, or a car chase. Those events don’t add anything else to the story except an action scene and another deep kiss. If I discovered the series today, I might be annoyed by the “one more” to consider DNF-ing.

That brings me to the most difficult to explain—I didn’t connect with it. There are times that I just don’t like the book. It could be that I had figured out who committed the crime too early. A character is too stupid to survive in the real world. I will admit that as my years increase, I find myself getting irritated by characters in their early twenties who run crime syndicates, are running billion-dollar, large corporations, or find the answer to a problem that people have been working on for years.

The great thing about reading is that there is always another book to read. With the explosion of Monster Romance and Alien Romance shorts, I can devour two a night, and that makes me feel accomplished.

Now, I’m curious- What causes you to DNF? A Winner will be chosen at random to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

About the Author

 

Melanie/M. Jayne is the teller of tales of the Novus Pack and an Amazon Bestselling Author. See Me was a finalist for the Holt Medallion. In 2022, the Duchenne Vampire Series enriched her portfolio. She loves reading, luxury handbags, watching sports, and the Bravo Housewives. Learn more at www.readmelaniejayne.com.

Meet your Weekend Book Boyfriend–Dylan O’Hara–and get ready for Halloween! (FREE Book!)
Friday, October 27th, 2023

Yes, this is the worst, most laughable meme ever, right? My daughter made it for fun when I gave her a list of things I wanted the meme to reflect: Weekend Book Boyfriend, a Halloween party, vampires… She made this one, and another (if you can believe, it’s worse!), as a joke but didn’t realize how perfect it really was. If you’ve never read Sm{B}itten, then you won’t get it. Which means you have to now, right?

And just so you know, I had fun with the title of the story. I couldn’t decide between Smitten and Bitten and decided it was both. I pronounce it: Smuh-Bitten.

I hope you give it a try. It’s Dylan and Emmy’s romance. It’s funny. She’s an innocent who walks into a world she’s not prepared for and he’s the vampire trying to save her from her own bad choices. I wrote this book a long time ago, and it started a series I still haven’t finished. I know, I know. I will. When I’m ready. But for now, there are a ton of the stories in the series, and I hope Emmy and Dylan’s story will convince you that you can’t miss the journey. But be warned!! The book is very, very sexy. If erotica is not your thing, skip it!

So, pick up your FREE copy and enjoy! If you want to read more Night Fall stories, head over to my series page and take a look: Series Webpage

Happy Reading!
~DD

Sm{B}itten

Sm(b)itten

True love bites!

Emmy Harris knows she’s not perfect. She has a little extra padding and isn’t the brightest bulb, but you’d think she was a sexy rock star the way everyone at a certain night club treats her from the moment she walks through the door. In fact, the two sexiest men there can’t seem to keep their hands off her, until one of them sweeps her away to his private domain. A girl like her isn’t going to waste a chance like that! So he’s a little rough and likes to take a nibble or two while he pleasures her. For a girl who didn’t know she’d never experienced a full-blown orgasm before, Dylan’s eccentricities are delicious!

Dylan O’Hara only wants a night of passion to slake his lusts, but finds Emmy is a full-bodied, red-blooded siren whose innocence and humor draw this Master vampire like a moth to a red-hot flame. When Emmy attracts the attention of a serial-killing vampire, Dylan vows to protect her, but he fears he’ll lose Emmy once she discovers he’s not quite human.

Get your FREE copy now!

N.J. Walters: Meet the Forgotten Brotherhood
Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

When I started the Forgotten Brotherhood series, I envisioned a unique group of paranormal assassins. They’re not the monsters lurking under the bed. They’re the ones the monsters under the bed fear.

They live by a strict code: Kill only those that truly deserve it and let their gods sort them out. Kill them before they kill you. Never, ever betray a fellow assassin.

It started with FURY UNLEASHED when a fallen angel named Maccus Fury stepped onto the page. Feared by both Heaven and Hell, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Now one of Hell’s bounty hunters has been sent to assassinate him. Trouble is, they’re falling for each other.

Next came ARCTIC BITE and Alexei Medvedev, a secy hybrid vampire/polar bear shifter. He’s been sent to hunt down a missing reaper, who is much more than she seems.

In BURNING ASH, we meet Asher, the father of vampires. He crosses paths with a human vampire hunter, and the both of them become embroiled in a conspiracy to harm the Brotherhood.

BJORNED CURSED—Ancient Viking warrior Bjorn Knutson, the father of werewolves, is tasked by Odin himself to return a woman who’s escaped from the Norse afterlife. Problem is, she’s his long-dead wife, his love. Now they’ll have to fight the gods and Lucifer if they hope to survive.

Nothing was supposed to wake half dragon, half human Lucius from his Deep Sleep, but someone has. Waking a sleeping drakon wasn’t in her plans. Neither was falling in love with him. Love and intrigue challenge their growing relationship in ANCIENT DESIRE.

Last, but not least, is HUNTER AVENGED. Immortal Viking hunter Sven Knutson is on the hunt for an angelic librarian suspected of being part of a plot against the Brotherhood, and she’d led him on a deadly chase. But there is a greater force behind it. Someone powerful enough to take on the most dangerous assassins who have ever lived. Someone who could unleash the fury of both Heaven and Hell. This time the Brotherhood will end the threat to their existence or die trying.

Fury Unleashed
Forgotten Brotherhood, Book 1

Maccus Fury, a fallen angel, is trying hard to keep his sanity. Seems being an assassin might be catching up with him. Now, Heaven, or Hell, has sent a beautiful assassin to kill him. Lovely. She’s pretending to seduce him, and he’s okay with that. She’s smart and snarky—but she has no idea what she’s walked into. And he’s more than peeved that they only sent one person. They’re going to need an army if they want him dead.

Morrigan Quill is one of Hell’s bounty hunters. She sold her soul to keep her sister safe, and now she’s working off her contract by catching bad guys and dragging them back to hell. When Lucifer makes her a new offer––that’s definitely too good to be true—she can’t say no. All she has to do is kill a powerful and crazy-hot fallen angel, who will totally kick her ass in battle.

Good thing he won’t see what’s coming next.

Find FURY UNLEASHED here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084M1NQ88
Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/books/fury-unleashed
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fury-unleashed-n-j-walters/1136398720
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fury-unleashed-1
iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/fury-unleashed/id1498471438

Find THE FORGOTTEN BROTHERHOOD SERIES here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086BT7QJL/

About the Author

N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, assassins, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

Visit her at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/gdblg5
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters

Most Anticipated Movies — See trailer for RENFIELD! (Contest–and Open Contests)
Sunday, January 22nd, 2023

UPDATE: The winner is…Beth!
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I love movies. I’m sure a lot of you do, too. My tastes are “low brow.” I could care less about movies that win Oscars because of their “important” stories. I want to be entertained. Plus, I LOVE so-called “B-movies.” The more improbable and campier, the more I love them. I watched and waited in eager anticipation for every new Sharknado film. (My family did viewing parties!) I loved Eight Legged Freaks. Die Hard is my all-time favorite film. I’ve watched it over twenty times, I’m sure.

So, when I say I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for Renfield, you know it’s probably not the best movie ever made, but it hits me in all the feels—ridiculously over-the-top, funny, NICK CAGE, vampires… Do you remember Vampire’s Kiss with Cage when we weren’t entirely sure if he was becoming a vampire or was nuts? I loved, loved that movie. Now, he’s back as Dracula!

Watch the trailer!

 

And wow, the guy from Warm Bodies, Nicholas Hoult, (another favorite film of mine) is the main character! I can’t wait for its release on April 14th!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon GC, tell me whether Renfield is something you’re eager to see. Also, share your favorite B-movie picks!

Open Contests

  1. A. Catherine Noon: Letters from Far Away (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a hand-painted postcard!
  2. How my January is going so far… (Contest–2 Winners!) — This one ends soon! Win a hand-painted bookmark!
  3. Saturday’s Puzzle-Contest: All I want is a decent cup… — Win an Amazon gift card!
  4. Gabbi Black: When You Flip a Trop on its Head (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
  5. TV Series Finale Rant & the Saturday Puzzle! (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
2022 Review: Just reminding you… (Contest)
Thursday, January 5th, 2023

UPDATE: The winner is…Stacey Kinzebach!
*~*~*

Last year wasn’t my most prolific writing year—that’s for sure. However, I did have several releases. Some were re-edited, re-released titles (the Dark Realm stories), but most were new series books, including two Brotherhood Protectors books! Today, I just wanted to provide the list and release dates of the titles in case you missed one. If you’re interested in one of the stories, click on the covers to check them out!

  • 01/07/22 – AFTER DARK, Dark Realm series, short story
  • 01/25/22 – ELI, Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series
  • 02/15/22 – HUNK OF BURNING LOVE, Cowboys on the Edge, short story
  • 03/22/22 – NO TENDER MERCY, Texas Vampires series
  • 04/26/22 – DARK SEDUCTION, Dark Realm series
  • 06/21/22 – VICTORIA’S SIX, Brotherhood Protectors: Colorado series
  • 07/26/22 – GABRIEL, Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT series 
  • 08/12/22 – WHAT A WOLF WANTS, Dark Realm series, short story, 
  • 10/11/22 – GUARDING HANNAH, Brotherhood Protectors: Team Wolf series

2022 Novels/Novellas

Eli (Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT Book 6) No Tender Mercy Dark Seduction
 

Victoria's Six Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse Guarding Hannah

2022 Short Stories

Hunk of Burning Love

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell whether you’ve read any of these stories or which titles might interest you now! Easy, right?

New Release! Dark Seduction, Book #2 of Dark Realm is available now!
Tuesday, April 26th, 2022

This is just a quick note to let you know that Dark Seduction, a full-length erotic paranormal story, is out today! So, if you love a very erotic, very dark story, this one’s for you. 🙂

Dark Seduction

Get your copy here!
Available in the Amazon store, on Kindle Unlimited, and in print!

Arriving after midnight: DARK SEDUCTION! (Read an excerpt!)
Monday, April 25th, 2022

Ready for a meaty, sexy read (full-length novel)? Plenty of plot twists? Vampires, demons, and zombies? A yummy menage? A sexy, sexy hero (this one’s EROTIC!)? Well, it drops tonight after midnight!

Dark Seduction

Dark Seduction

A raging storm unleashes a tempest of desire and an ancient evil…

For nearly 800 years, Revenant Nicolas Mountfaucon has dedicated his life to ensuring an immortal monster never walks free. When a terrible storm unleashes the beast, Nicolas’s past rises to haunt him, taunting him with the memory of the death of his bride and the loss of his brother at the hands of the ancient demon known as “The Devourer.” Nicolas turns to the only person who can provide him emotional and physical solace, Born vampire Chessa Tomas, sure she will join the hunt for the evil creature.

Only Chessa wants nothing to do with hunting the “Big Bad”—she’s shed her responsibilities as a Born, refusing her seat on the council because she doesn’t trust their leader. However, Nic isn’t as easily dismissed—he appeals to the secret side of her nature that begs to be dominated.

Pre-order your copy here!

An excerpt from Dark Seduction

Fresh from her shower, Chessa heard the heavy knock and glanced at her clock on the bedside stand. Still an hour before she had to be at work.

Not the super. She’d paid her rent. Besides, he’d fled with the rest of the building’s inhabitants when the Mayor had ordered evacuation.

And not her partner seeing whether she wanted to get a cup of coffee before reporting to duty. Her partner wasn’t coming today.

Or ever again.

Curious, she threaded through piles of discarded clothing to her front door and peered through the peephole into a hallway lit only by grayish, pre-dusk light from the landing window. The power had gone out sometime during the night. Just one more annoyance on top of the last hellish twenty-four hours.

A familiar man stood on her threshold. Broad shoulders, long dark hair—her body clenched. “Nic?” What was he doing in the city again so soon? How the hell had he gotten in? She’d heard most of the roads around the city were closed due to flooding.

“Chessa, open the door.”

Something in his voice had her gripping the doorknob tight. Her breath hitched. She didn’t want to know what had brought him here.

“Please,” he said, weariness and raw, aching need flavoring the rich timbre of his voice.

Although they’d sated their appetite for sex a few hours ago, Chessa’s body softened instantly, heat tightening her womb. She hated the way her body betrayed her.

They’d said their farewells, she reminded herself. “We had a deal, Nic. You stick to your turf—I’ll stick to mine.”

“Chessa, open the goddamn door.”

The “or else” he left unspoken in his lightly accented voice. She got the message and turned the knob, stepping aside to let him in as she wrapped her towel tightly around her body.

A quick, sweeping glance told her there was trouble. Big, fat vampire trouble. Nicolas looked a mess.

His long black-brown hair hung in damp, curling tendrils around his lean face. His exposed skin was grimy-looking, and he smelled of sewage and sour swamp water.

His hands reached for her.

Without time to sidestep, she found herself smashed against his chest, his strong hands clutching her close.

She leaned back in the circle of his arms and stared into his face. What she saw troubled her. His jaw was clenched tight, and his face was unnaturally pale—even by a vampire’s standards. “What’s happened?”

His throat tightened, but he shook his head and lowered it.

Only she’d just had a shower, and he stunk to high heaven. Besides, she needed space to calm the riot of feelings he aroused. Ones she was still uncomfortable acknowledging even existed. She pressed her palms against his chest to halt him.

She loved Rene. Although he’d chosen to enter a mage’s sanctuary with another Born vampire, Chessa wasn’t over him yet.

Her feelings for Nicolas were strictly carnal—and she needed to get her libido back under control. Unbridled passion had been unleashed by proximity to Natalie Lambert’s coming into season, as only a transforming Born could inspire. That arousal had spilled over onto Chessa and Nicolas—it was the only explanation Chessa would allow for the strength of the desire that even now made her body yearn toward his.

Nicolas’s chest heaved, and his eyes narrowed to feral slits. “Don’t deny me. Not now.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You stink.”

“Then we’ll shower,” he said, a dangerous edge to his voice.

As always, his first terse words had her melting. “Tell me why you’re here,” she said, searching for a way to put him off while she shored up her fading resistance.

Another shake of his head, this time sharp and violent. “Later,” he ground out.

Then she noted the wildness in his eyes. Something had rattled his cage. Nicolas was never anything but completely in control. Chessa felt the last bit of solid ground crumble beneath her. “All right,” she said softly and held up a hand to ward off a kiss. “But shower first.” He’d have to let her go to follow her.

However, Nicolas wasn’t giving her the space she needed to regroup. He grabbed the top of her towel and ripped it away then slammed his mouth on hers, backing her toward the bedroom.

Chessa’s bare feet skidded on her wood floor as she dug in her heels, but he swept her along, through her bedroom into the bathroom, all the while punishing her lips with a brutal kiss.

When the edge of the tub brought them up short, he reached behind her and yanked aside the shower curtain. “Turn it on.”

Dumbly, she reached behind her, fumbling to turn the knob, finally sending a spray of water that misted around them before he lifted her above the rim of her tub to set her inside.

Nicolas tore at his clothes, dropping them at his feet, then stepped beside her in the stall, crowding her against the cool tile walls with lukewarm water falling all around them. “Any more objections?” he asked, in his oddly rasping voice.

She shook her head, overwhelmed and mute with rising desire. Her body already strained toward his. Her breasts swelled, her nipples ruching tight and hard. Her legs trembled, and her sex released a trickle of fragrant moisture she couldn’t deny.

His hands reached around her and grasped her bottom, lifting her off her feet, crushing her breasts to his chest, her mound against the base of his rigid cock.

With his erection pressing into her belly, any objection was obliterated. She flung out her arms and gripped his shoulders, aiding him as he angled her body toward his and thrust his cock between her legs.

Chessa groaned as he slid inside her. “Bastard, we had a deal.”

His response was a flex of his hips to thrust hard inside her, tunneling deep, pressing higher until the strength of his hips and cock had her feet dangling above the porcelain bottom of the tub.

When he’d reached inside her as far as he could, he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing away her breath and laid his cheek alongside hers, his chest heaving.

She shivered from arousal so strong it nearly choked her and from fear of whatever had shaken Nicolas to his core. She’d never seen him like this. “What is it? What’s happened?”

His head drew away, and his gaze burned as it slid to her lips. “Later,” he groaned.

Again, the wildness in his gaze and the tension that gripped his broad shoulders and arms as he held her unsettled her. This wasn’t Nicolas with his sardonic quips and ever-watchful gaze. Accustomed of late to him showing up at unexpected times to tempt her, this was different.

He was frightened.

Although tempted to argue, to chide him and try to drive him away, she wound her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and pulled him close, dragging his head down to bury against her shoulder.

If she were honest with herself, she was glad he’d come.

Not that she was ready to be anybody’s rock. She had problems of her own. A life to sort out. One far away from the vampire enclave at Ardeal.

Nicolas was entrenched in that life, but she had broken free decades ago and had vowed she’d never go back. Whatever was bothering him now wasn’t her problem.

But she could hold him and let his warmth and strength provide her comfort as well. She had her own needs and a desolate loneliness that had filled her when she’d shut her apartment door hours earlier and realized the only friend she’d had in the world was lost to her forever.

“Stop thinking,” he growled.

“Just fuck me,” she bit out, meeting his hard gaze with a glare of her own.

Their hips churned together in a desperate coupling. Not at all the sexy, teasing pummeling she’d come to expect—that in itself was an indication of his upset. His movements lacked finesse. He gave no thought for her pleasure, which he was always so careful to draw out—torturing her with her own desire.

Instead, his hands gripped her ass hard, pushing her up and down his cock, grinding her back against the cool tiles as he powered into her.

When he came, his eyes squeezed tight, his body grew rigid, and he held his breath for one endless moment. After his pulsing release waned, he dropped his forehead against the tiles. “Get out.”

Surprised at the harshness of his voice, she didn’t question him, just unwound her legs from his waist and slid down his body. She stepped out of the tub to dry herself with a towel while he remained inside, drawing the curtain closed behind him.

She couldn’t think of a thing to say. Despite the humid air inside the room, she shivered.

Damn. It sure as hell felt like she cared about the fact he’d tossed her out of her own shower.