Vampire Romance Great Summer Read

15 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by in vampire romance novels

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VAMPIRES OF THE CHESAPEAKE BOOK #3 NIKOLAUS SCHILD on AMAZON.COM
Check it out now!

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VAMPIRES OF THE CHESAPEAKE: NIKOLAUS SCHILD at AMAZON.COM

Make-up Sex Gone Wrong

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Excerpts & Other Booky Things, Uncategorized

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A quick excerpt of a contemporary romance, Lost in Chesapeake. Kendra and Soren finish their make-up session that they had in her childhood bedroom at her parents’ house. This is what happens next:

Almost Heaven 

They dressed, packed her things, and put the bed back together. When they’d composed themselves, they opened the bedroom door with Soren carrying her suitcase, and walked to the kitchen where they found her mom sitting at the breakfast table sipping coffee. Her father was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Dad?” Kendra asked.

“Oh, he left, dear,” her mom answered.

“Where’d he run off to at this hour?”

Her mom set down her mug and blushed. “Anyplace where he couldn’t hear you.” Then, she picked up her mug and continued drinking her coffee.

Kendra and Soren snickered, trying their best to hold in their laughter.

“We’re sorry, Mom,” Kendra offered.

Soren put an arm around Kendra and hugged her close.

“It’s all right dear, but your father may be traumatized for the rest of his life.” It was the way she delivered her lines, deadpan, that made them lose it. Kendra laughed first, bending at the waist, holding her stomach. Soren, seeing her in stitches, laughed heartily.

“I don’t see what’s so funny,” her mom said, watching them with her face scrunched up. “It’s a natural act. Your father and I have done it before, too, so it’s not like we don’t know about sex, Kendra. For heaven’s sake.” She stood and rinsed her mug in the sink.

“Mother!” Kendra sobered and looked aghast.

But Soren continued laughing, now harder than before.

“What?” her mom asked.

“Don’t talk about Daddy like that and you two…sex…” She stopped talking and let her mouth hang open.

Her mother shrugged and dried off the mug. “I’m just sayin’.”

“Mother!” She pushed Soren out of the kitchen. “We have to go, Mom!”

“Okay, dear. Call me when you get home so I know you’re safe. It was nice to see you, Soren, honey.”

He grinned from ear to ear. “Nice to see you too, Mom.”

She pushed him out the front door calling over her shoulder, “Bye! Tell Dad I said goodbye!”

 

 

Review: Tricia O’Malley’s Wild Irish Heart

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by in Book Reviews

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wildirishheartKeelin O’Brien has always been different and she’s mastered hiding her idiosyncrasies, but when she discovers a mysterious book, believed to be her Irish grandmother’s, she travels from Boston to the Emerald Isle in hopes of unraveling the enigma.

While exploring the small Irish village where her grandmother lives, she makes new friends and meets a witty, snarky Irishman named Flynn who always seems to bump into her during the most inopportune times.

Sparks fly. Tempers flare. But Flynn winds his way into her heart, and she into his. Just as things are heating up, Keelin weighs how much of her uniqueness she wants to reveal to this intoxicating man because her stay in Ireland is temporary; revealing too much may ruin everything.

This romantic tale is exactly what I hope for when I choose a new series to read. There’s Ireland, a sexy, brooding Irishman, a smart, but quirky protagonist, and an interesting plot for the characters all to meander through. I found the story interesting and full of wonderful chemistry, offering the perfect balance between the main characters’ story and the minor characters. Oftentimes, authors spend nearly as much time on minor characters as they do the main ones, and in a romance, when I so want to see the two main ones get together, I hate wading through chapter after chapter of backstory, subplots, or fluffy dialogue that seems to be nothing but filler. That’s not to say there aren’t chapters showing Keelin’s developing friendships and familial relationships, but they don’t smother the main storyline, they enhance it.

The bedroom scene, when it finally happens,  is sensual, but the novel isn’t rampant with sexual escapades, but I would have liked a few more romps in the hay, if you get my drift? That aside, Flynn and Keelin do make sparks fly and the sexual tension between them is wonderful.

Wild Irish Heart is a fast read where the characters suck you into their world making you believe their lives and their circumstances all set in a beautifully described village in southern Ireland. So, if this sounds like an intriguing read, pick up your e-copy for FREE on AMAZON.

This one earns:
5hearts

 

Nikolaus, Nikolaus, Wherefore Art Thou?

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by in Thoughts About Writing, Uncategorized

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I’ve been searching for my image of Nikolaus Schild and thus far have come up empty handed. In my trilogy, Vampires of the Chesapeake, Nik is the eldest of the three immortals: Kian MacTiernan, Rees Morgan, and Nikolaus Schild. He’s also the cockiest, most creative, rebellious, and chivalrous of the three. When I first envisioned him, I immediately saw the concert violinist, David Garrett; a young, charismatic, talented musician. But finding David’s doppelganger proved difficult and challenging.

Here’s the Gold Standard by which I measured my future image for Nikolaus Schild:

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In order to take his place on the final cover in the trilogy and be considered as Nik, the model had to look arrogant, rebellious without being tattooed from head to toe, and these days, that’s difficult to find. I wanted him to have a slightly Nordic appearance and look rugged, not baby-faced. After all, Nik is 1400 years old, he’s seen battle, reigned as a prince over Frankish territories, and survived the psychedelic sixties and seventies! He doesn’t apologize for being a vampire, relishes it, in fact, and tends to say what’s on his mind.

So, here is my newest image for my Nikolaus Schild:

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What do you think? Is he Nik?

Help Choose the Plot

30 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by in Polls and Quizzes

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Take the poll below and help move the plot along in the third book of the series, Vampires of the Chesapeake: Nikolaus Schild!

My Image of Donella
Sort of my image of Nik

What Should Donnie Wear?

29 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by in Thoughts About Writing

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To help visualize when writing, I sometimes find images that most closely match what I imagine my characters to look like or to be wearing. In this case, Donella Fitzpatrick, from Vampires of the Chesapeake book 3, is attending Nikolaus’ performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Which dress do you prefer? The Chiffon or the Satin and lace? Which shoes? Since it’s December during the performance, I opted to give Donnie a stole. Would that work over either dress?

The image of Natalie Portman is how I imagine Donnie to look, except Donella has light gray eyes. So, what do you think? What should Donnie wear?