Boy, that sentence looks like it needs some serious editing, but it’s true!  Ashleigh Raine is another writing team made up of BFFs Jen & Lisa, and Donna & I were lucky enough to meet them a looooong time ago, when we were just wet-behind-the-ears n00bs in the world of publishing.

They recently rereleased the first book in their steamy Hollywood Heat series for the bargain price of 99 cents and the third book in the series comes out next week!

And if you’d like to try the first book in the series, you can pick up your sexytiemz weekend read for 99 cents at any of these places: Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes & Noble, Diesel, Kobo & Sony!

Let the commenting begin!

Be warned, gentle readers. This book is naughty!  Don’t believe me?

OCEAN’S TOUCH BY DENISE TOWNSEND

A lonely widow and a handsome artist have a chance for happiness…with the help of a sexy selkie, that is.

After the death of Meredith’s husband many years before, she allowed his legacy to take over her life. A shell of a woman, she finds little joy in her day-to-day tasks. Drawn to her pain, the empathic selkie Dylan knows she’s ready to live and love again, and he knows that he’s just the man for the job.

As Dylan draws Meredith out of her shell, he realizes that to truly free her, he needs to help her accept her budding love for Alexander, an artist who challenges Meredith on every level: intellectually, emotionally and sexually. To achieve a true happy ending, Dylan must help his chosen humans break down their emotional barriers in order to grab the happiness they so deserve.

WARNING: This book features a lonely widow, a hot artist waiting in the wings, and the sexy selkie who brings them together…in every possible way.

Since I’m leaving on a holiday-family-adventure road trip on Saturday morning, this will be a quick contest. Leave a comment on this post by 5 PM CST on Friday, December 23rd, and you’ll be entered to win! Easy peasy! If you want more opportunities for the winningz, you can catch up with Ms. Townsend on Twitter or Facebook, too. Ocean’s Touch is releasing from Samhain Publishing next Tuesday.

I’ll pick a winner before I head off into the uncertain internet of holiday vacation. I’m headed to the beach to meet family flying in from Maine and Minnesota.  Tell us in the comments if you’ve got anything special planned, or if you’re going to stay at home and read books. (I am so jealous of you already.)

…I do not think I’m very good at those games.

Except I DID gain followers. So. There’s that. (I’m eying you all a bit suspiciously.)

I had several suggestions for how to pick those who die–including twitter polls & letting my followers fight it out, reality twitter style–along with a couple of offers to throw oneself on the sacrificial altar, which I thought was rather sweet.

Since I have too much writing to do to organize Twitter Survivor, I thought I’d just go with the volunteer method.

Are you ready to see the altar on which I perform all of my occult twitter sacrifices?

That’s right. I’m going to pick five of you (who may or may not follow me on twitter, since I’m too lazy to check) and sacrifice you to the dark demons of the Children of the Undying world.  You will be forced to receive an advance ebook copy of DEMON BAIT, which could be considered a fate worse than death in some municipalities or in my worst nightmares at 2 AM.

(Edit: Just to be clear, this is NOT restricted to twitter followers. Not only am I too lazy to check, I’m not going to exclude anyone either!)

* * *

Fifty years after a demon apocalypse devastated the world, summoners still bear the bulk of the blame. Marci lives in secret, hiding the gifts that could cost her a secure spot in one of humanity’s underground cities, and access to their virtual world. After all, her chances of avoiding the genetic-testing lotto are better than her chances of surviving topside.

The bastard son of a terrifying incubus, lust heats Gabe’s blood and sex fuels his magic. Innate charm and charisma help him navigate the cultural gap between the outcast town he calls home and the human settlements he infiltrates for trade. His latest mission nets him an unexpected asset–a summoner strong enough to soothe his darkest needs.

Trust a half demon, especially one who uses a lockdown to trap them together? Not in this lifetime. Yet Marci can’t resist Gabe’s offer to see her safely to a selective outcast settlement where she can live without fear. The journey alone is as dangerous as the way Gabe makes her heart race, but it could be her one hope of a real life.

If only she could be sure Gabe’s telling her the whole truth…

* * *

If you’re willing to save the rest of my followers from this gruesome fate, leave a comment and tell me why you’re willing to throw yourself on my dark twitter altar.  It’s okay to say it’s all about the peanut butter…I like peanut butter too.

(Winners will be chosen next week and contacted via e-mail. No followers were harmed in the photoshopping of this occult altar.)

Going forward we’re going to be concentrating on our two favorites: twitter and our blog.  And in honor of that fact our blog got a make-over over the weekend.  The make-over is actually in two parts: a little bit layout, and a little bit theme.  In the future we’ll be switching up our theme depending on what series we’re currently focusing on.  This winter is Children of the Undying, spring & summer will be Bloodhounds, and next fall is Southern Arcana.  (Really, I just wanted an excuse for different themes! Wheeeee!)

The background of this blog theme is post-apocalyptic Minneapolis. Sorry, Minneapolis.  If you want to see how completely we plan to destroy the place, check out this series themed desktop wallpaper:

[Click to Largify]

* * *

And hey, how about an ARC contest in celebration? We’ve got early copies of Demon Bait here, so if you’d like a digital ARC, leave a comment below, and I’ll pick one winner on Friday.

* * *

Upcoming Release Dates: November 29, 2011 (ebook)

Length: Novella | Rating: Hot | Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Themes: Magic, Hot Techies, Guns & Explosions, Futuristic, Evil Plots Need Foiling, Demons, Cyberpunk, Post-Apocalyptic, Virtual Reality

The Southern Arcana Read Along marches on, and you can head over to The Book Pushers to chat about Deadlock & possibly win a kindle. Fun and excitement, YAY!

There are a few early reviews of Cipher popping up, plus lots of interviews & giveaways. In no particular order…

• Check out Kyla Novelista for a review + EPIC interview + giveaway.
• Another awesome interview (awesome questions, our typical nutty answers *g*) is at books-forlife.blogspot.com, and you can win books there, too!
• Patti at Caught in a FAB Romance had some nice things to say about Cipher.
• Holly at Long & Short Reviews gave Cipher a Best Book rating. Wheee!
• Kelly at Reading the Paranormal was one of the first I saw to post a review of Cipher, and she has obviously been listening to me reveal the secret themes of Southern Arcana on twitter, because she gets that it’s all about the breakfast foods.
• We also popped in at Badass Book Reviews with a mini-interview & happy birthday wishes.  Find out what I’d say if I woke up in jail with Donna.

Whew, I think that’s all I’ve got!  Check back for the rest of the week, though, because we’ve got some fun giveaways planned. 

THE CRAZY EBOOK CONTEST OF DOOOOOOOOOOOM…

The final story in my buddy Vivian Arend’s Pacific Passion trilogy is out this week, so I’m going to go crazy over here on our blog and give away TEN COPIES of the first story in the trilogy, Stormchild.

Simplest contest in the world. Leave a comment wishing Viv a happy release day, and you’re entered. You’ve got until Monday, May 23rd, before I use the AWESOME “pick contest winner” contest to get me 10 winners.

So go crazy, guys.

CONTEST IS CLOSED. Thank you all for entering!

So hop on over and find out how to win an iPad! 

#1) Why do you write ebooks? Aren’t you worried that you’re contributing to the eventual fall of civilization at the hands of the robot overlords?

First I’ll answer the question somewhat seriously… I don’t write ebooks, I just write books. If someone wanted to put them together on napkins and hand them out on street corners like maniacal end-of-days religious groups, I’d be thinking “woohoo, someone is going to read my book!” With ebooks, I like that those someones are probably a bit saner than people reading apocalypse napkin literature. Or at least they pretend to be.

Also, if the robot overlords are using my books to help move towards a brighter robot tomorrow, they’re in serious trouble.

#2) Some say the world will end in robots, some say in zombies. Which are you?

This is serious business. The world will end in sharks. Who learn to walk. And are propelled by jet-packs. Stop laughing. Jet-fuelled land sharks are a danger to us all. I’d like to see a zombie fight a sonic shark.

#3) Finally, the greatest question of our time: Caveman vs Astronaut. Who’s gonna win that epic battle?

Cavemen, clearly. Those suckers outlasted the dinosaurs and didn’t get destroyed by wooly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. They were badasses. What did astronauts ever conquer? Gravity? OHHHHHHH. I’d like to see an astronaut take on a wooly mammoth.

Want to know more about her book?

Something Secret This Way Comes
Secret McQueen, Book 1
May 10, 2011

Some secrets are dangerous. This Secret is deadly.

For Secret McQueen, her life feels like the punch line for a terrible joke. Abandoned at birth by her werewolf mother, hired as a teen by the vampire council of New York City to kill rogues, Secret is a part of both worlds, but belongs to neither. At twenty-two, she has carved out as close to a normal life as a bounty hunter can.

When an enemy from her past returns with her death on his mind, she is forced to call on every ounce of her mixed heritage to save herself—and everyone else in the city she calls home. As if the fate of the world wasn’t enough to deal with, there’s Lucas Rain, King of the East coast werewolves, who seems to believe he and Secret are fated to be together. Too bad Secret also feels a connection with Desmond, Lucas’s second-in-command…

Warning: This book contains a sarcastic, kick-ass bounty hunter; a metaphysical love triangle with two sexy werewolves; a demanding vampire council; and a spicy seasoning of sex and violence.

ETA: Contest is closed! Thanks Sierra for donating the ARC and all of you for the awesome comments. Congrats, Mary Preston, the winner!

Wheee, aren’t the covers pretty?

Here’s the deal. These two stories can be read in either order, as they take place roughly around the same time, in two separate kingdoms. (Sabine in the wolves’ territory and Kisri in the lions’ territory.)  You can click on the covers to read the blurbs and warnings and decide which one you’d rather read.

Then leave a comment and say which one you want to win.  You can ONLY PICK ONE. If you say either, or both, or “Please enter me, I’d love to be considered” then your entry won’t count. Because it’s my birthday! And on my birthday, we all have to follow directions. (I know, I’m such a hypocrite.)

The stories are short! They’re naughty! They might be, at times, a little sad. But they have happy endings and we love-love-loved writing them, so now I get to share a couple copies a little early. 

Go! Enter! Wheeee!