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beach books, d. a. rhine, paranormal romance, romance novels, romance series, summer reads, vampire romance, vampires of the chesapeake
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01 Friday Jul 2016
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beach books, d. a. rhine, paranormal romance, romance novels, romance series, summer reads, vampire romance, vampires of the chesapeake
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15 Friday Apr 2016
Posted vampire romance novels
in15 Friday Apr 2016
Posted vampire romance novels
in02 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted Thoughts About Writing, Uncategorized
inTags
d. a. rhine, immortals, paranormal romance, romance series, vampire romance, vampires of the chesapeake
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:
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:
What do you think? Is he Nik?
30 Monday Nov 2015
Posted Polls and Quizzes
in29 Sunday Nov 2015
Posted Thoughts About Writing
inTags
Evening Wear, Fashion, paranormal romance, paranormal romance series, Romance book, romance series, vampires, vampires of the chesapeake
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?
07 Saturday Nov 2015
Posted Thoughts About Writing
inTags
d. a. rhine, immortals, NANO, NANOWRIMO, Nikolaus Schild, paranormal romance, Plot, Plot Problems, romance novels, romance series, vampires, vampires of the chesapeake
Dear Plot,
The Viagra I ordered to reinvigorate your romance scenes should be here before week’s end, and the bottle of Jameson is for our author in case the Viagra doesn’t get here on time.
Sincerely,
Nikolaus/MC of Vampires of the Chesapeake
06 Friday Nov 2015
Posted Thoughts About Writing
inTags
book series, d. a. rhine, NANO, NANOWRIMO, Nikolaus Schild, paramormal romance novels, romance, romance novels, romance series, vampires of the chesapeake
I had so hoped you would finally make the move and seduce the lovely, young woman I placed in your house as a gift for you to ravish, and as entertainment for my readers, but instead, you decided to get into a brawl with a vampire hunter, and now, are lying injured in your bed. This was not what I wrote you to do. My full expectation was for you to be frolicking beneath those sheets with Donella. Now, find a cure, and be the dashing, seductive immortal that I devised you to be!
Sincerely,
Your Creator of a Romance plot gone awry
03 Tuesday Nov 2015
Posted Thoughts About Writing
inTags
d. a. rhine, kian mactiernan, NANO, NANOWRIMO, National Novel Writing Month, Nikolaus Schild, paranormal romance, Rees Morgan, romance novels, romance series, vampires, vampires of the chesapeake
I have neglected my friendship with my sexy eldest vampire. We haven’t been communicating effectively, and I’m not solely to blame. He wouldn’t talk to me, wouldn’t visit me. But NANO forced my hand and like Adele’s lyrics in Someone Like You said:
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited but I couldn’t stay away I couldn’t fight it. I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over.
And so I intruded on his privacy, stalking him, spying on him, probing him with questions. It’s November, and that’s National Novel Writing Month. Thankfully, he eventually came around, and now, we’re on more than speaking terms. He’s let me in again, and I have full discussions about who he’s dating, how his sex life is going, you know, the sordid little details that must make up a paranormal romance novel.
Donnie even came out of hiding this month to reintroduce herself. She’s as sassy as ever and
seems to have found a bit of self esteem because she’s bossing the Boss Man around and they are having a grand old time…except it has to end. That’s what Nik believes. You know how it is? It can’t be sunshine and roses all the time and well, the happy couple are bound to encounter some hurdles. I’m concerned that he might stop talking to me again when I give Donnie full permission to push his buttons, however, and that will put my relationship with Nik on a perilous path.
But, if he won’t cooperate, maybe Donnie will. She certainly isn’t shying away from seducing Nik after I gave her a wink and nod. I think she might make this temporary cooling off period nearly impossible for him. It’s what he thinks he wants. He’s forgotten that rules are made to broken. And I’m going to help her break them.
23 Friday Oct 2015
Posted Book Reviews
inNew Feature:
Heat Factor: 6 out of 10 While there were romantic scenes, they are not overly explicit and most are quite short, yet they do not fade to black but give you snapshots of what goes on beneath the sheets. [1-3 No sex to fade to black] [4-6 Peeks into the bedroom describing modestly what’s going on beneath the sheets. Usually fairly brief scenes.] [7-10 Full view and intimate detail of sexual encounters, usually longer scenes than those in the middle of the scale.]
Told from Lauren Brooks’, the main character’s perspective, If I Break, is a tale of an intense relationship between a man and a woman. Cal is a gorgeous, uber-successful, slightly arrogant man who sweeps her off her feet. Their love is passionate yet runs hot and cold. They meet, the chemistry builds, and we ride along through this courtship. We get to know Lauren who is captivated by Cal. And although she wants to throw caution to the wind and give herself to him, she holds back a bit unsure of how committed Cal is to her. He has that bad boy attitude. Eventually, he tempts her and she melts for him. They marry and are blissful newlyweds for a few short months until Cal’s business trips seem to become more frequent and take him away from her for longer periods of time. Lauren becomes suspicious and feels she deserves explanations for why she can’t get in contact with him when he’s gone, why he doesn’t call her to let her know he’s arrived safely, and when he’s coming home. As her paranoia mounts leading her to believe that their fairytale romance has come to a tragic end, she presses him for answers, but Cal insists he can’t explain anymore than he already has. Filled with secrets, evasiveness, and tender moments that turn in a flash to heated battles, If I Break, pulls you through the book asking, “Why can’t he just tell her?”
When I began reading, I thought Lauren was a bit of a paranoid person who seemed a tad jealous. “Back off, Lauren, he tells you how much he loves you and lavishes you with all kinds of gifts,” I found myself saying. “He shows you in so many ways that he is committed to you and you married him knowing that he had a job that took him away from time to time,” I chided. As the story progressed, my opinion changed. I started wondering along with Lauren: What does he do at a job for a week? Why can’t he call her? Is he a mobster? What type of work makes it so you can’t even tell your wife what you do and check in with her so she won’t worry? Yet, I never fully hated Cal because he professes his love for her and you can feel his frustration even as you sympathize with Lauren’s lonely predicament. She wants nothing more than to spend her nights and days with the man she desperately loves.
I gave this four out of five because I think the way the story was developed was wonderful. I enjoyed how the author neatly wove the past events of their courtship with their current, tumultuous married life while keeping me in the dark without turning me off. That said, I don’t like cliff hangers that force you to buy the next book, and this one does. So, that is one drawback and at the end of book one there is no HEA (happily ever after). But the story was so engaging and the characters so believable that I did buy the second book, which appears to be the conclusion of the first. The ending of book one is unusual. The reason for Cal’s secrecy kept me guessing and only the end of book one revealed his secret – which is also why I gave it four out of five as the author rewards you with an answer to that question. The rationale for his extended business trips is plausible.
I do warn you that while book one can stand alone, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you don’t plan on buying the second, you might want to steer clear of this first one. I had to know how Cal and Lauren were going to resolve this tangled web. I’m almost halfway through book two, and so far, I have no idea. I guess I like that I can still read a story and not know where it’s going…
If you like plots that are woven with mystery, if you like unique relationships, if you’re one who wants to be surprised, and you don’t mind cliffhangers then give this one a try. It is not your typical romance. This book was FREE! And the second one is only $1.99 on Kindle. If you read it or have read it, let me know what you thought.