Carina Press' New Adult Book Blitz: Excerpts. Guest Posts + #Giveaway

 

 

 

Redemption (Defiance #2)

by Stephanie Tyler

 

 

Matthias Robichaud is looking for an alliance. The Defiance motorcycle club is a stronghold in the dangerous world that’s become the new norm and he’s driven to prove he’s tough enough to be sworn in as a full member. But when he sees a beautiful, spirited girl abducted by a rival MC, rescuing her jeopardizes all he’s worked for.

 

Politician’s daughter Jessa Everson knows what’s expected of her—obedience, loyalty and silence—but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t fight when she’s kidnapped by the Lords of Vengeance. Having Matthias save her is like gaining an avenging angel in leather and tattoos. But Defiance is known for brutal justice, and she may have just traded one bad situation for another.

 

Matthias’s urge to protect is too strong to ignore, no matter how much trouble Jessa brings to Defiance’s gates. There’s no room in the post-Chaos world for weakness so if Matthias and Jessa have any chance of surviving, they’ll need to put their full strength behind the MC…and hope that the MC will do the same for them.

 

 

 

EXCERPT

 

I woke, screaming and kicking. It only took a few moments to realize that I wasn’t gagged or in chains, the way I’d spent most of the past two weeks, at the LoV’s mercy.
 

Mathias was the first one to come into focus. He was signing to Bishop’s voice. You’re all right, Jessa. Take a breath.
 

I did. And I realized I was holding Mathias’s hand, his palm warm in mine. Holding it like we were lovers, like he was my lifeline, my fingers curled through his. I stared at our hands, fisted together, and I wondered if I’d ever understand any of this.
 

It’s a crazy time for everyone.
 

Bishop’s voice, Mathias’s free hand signing. I stared into Mathias’s dark eyes and I saw more understanding there than I ever had. “My grandmother would’ve reconsidered her stance on men for you.”
 

Bishop laughed—it had been a long time since I’d heard a real laugh—and he translated as Mathias signed, Grandmothers aren’t really my type, but I’m guessing there’s a compliment in there somewhere.
 

“Definitely.” I was flirting with the violent angel in leather. Flirting. After I’d thrown up in front of him. After everything, I still felt the taut butterfly nerves in my belly. And despite everything, I liked it.
 

He looked like the other bikers, thanks to his tattoos, and there was a leather jacket on the seat next to me, although it didn’t have the name of any biker club on the back of his jacket. Granted, he drove a van and not a bike, but he had that air about him. Less vengeful and outwardly cruel, but he hadn’t shied away from violence.
 

Neither had I. What was happening to me? Were two weeks enough to turn me from a pampered girl into a fighter, or had she always been there, waiting for the right time?
 

My grandmother liked to say that necessity was the mother of invention. Until this moment, I’d never truly understood what that meant.
 

 

 

GUEST POST

 

How I wound up being a New Adult author

by Stephanie Tyler

 

I’ve got an obsession with writing military men and men who ride motorcycles.  Have from my very first Blaze (Hunt, a Navy SEAL who rides a Harley).  So when I got the idea for my Defiance series (Defiance and Redemption are already out, and Salvation comes out in May of this year), it was simply a matter of perfect timing. 

 

I didn’t set out to purposely write a New Adult romance.  I love the show Sons of Anarchy, but some of my favorite episodes happen early in the series, when Jax and Tara reconnect after many years apart.  I wanted to know more about them when they were younger—what they looked like when they first fell in love.  And then I started to twist it together in my mind—like, what happens to the kids who grow up with parents in a motorcycle club?  What happens, specifically, to the girls who grow up in that environment?

 

I wanted to write those girls at 18, 19, 20.

 

And then I threw my characters into the perfect storm and billed it as, “Sons of Anarchy Meets The Apocalypse”.  Because for me, the MC dynamics and the women who marry into the culture always presented a unique challenge.  Putting them in a crisis allowed me to recreate the MC a bit, but still have the MC guys be their overbearing, alpha selves (because honestly, they’re my favorite men to write about).  And the world I’ve created is a joy to hang out in for me while I’m writing it.

 

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

New York Times Bestselling author Stephanie Tyler writes what she loves to read - romantic suspense novels starring military heroes and paranormal romance novels novels starring warrior heroes, all complete with happy endings. She also co-writes as Sydney Croft. She lives in New York with her husband, her kids and her crazy Weimaraner, Gus.

 

 

 

For more information on Stephanie, please visit www.stephanietyler.com or email her at stephanie@stephanietyler.com.

 

 

For more information on Sydney, please visit www.sydneycroft.com or email Sydney at sydney@sydneycroft.com




 

 

 
 

Wild Ones (The Lane #1)

by Kristine Wyllys

 

 

Bri Martin likes her skirts too short, her heels too high, and trouble close at hand. So when big, brooding underground boxer Luke Turner comes into the bar where she works and starts a fight before she brings his first drink, she can't help being intrigued. Luke is everything she never wanted and everything she can't resist.

 

Soon, Luke is showing up everywhere Bri is, and she can't break free of his hold on her, nor does she want to. When her best friend turns on her, it's Luke who is there. When  Luke's opponent comes after her to send Luke a message, it's he who comes to her rescue.

 

Before Bri knows it, she's caught in the midst of a rivalry between her boyfriend and her boss, both of whom are not content to settle their scores inside the ring. She swore she'd never live this life, so like the one she once ran from. But only by confronting her past can she decide where her future lies…and whether Luke can be a part of it.

 

 

 

EXCERPT

 

 

We were all still in our uniforms, and during the week, it was what set us apart from one another, made us competitors in a race for drunken sales. But on Sundays, it was what brought us together. We were comrades, we gatekeepers of legal sin, the ones who contributed to society’s moral decline. We were the ones who enabled bad decisions, one-night stands, breakups. We helped customers drown sorrows, celebrate victories, nurse torn hearts. We saw people at their best and their worst, sometimes in the same night. Sometimes in the same moment. Night after night we were everyone’s best friends until closing time, and on Sundays we grouped together in a small apartment overlooking the Lane, our sinful kingdom, and compared stories over our own drinks.
 

I was throwing back shots with the new bartender from Sharkie’s when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Fury standing there and behind him, a smirk on his face, was none other than Dark and Brooding Luke Turner.
 

            “Got someone here who wants to meet you, Bri-baby.” Fury was smiling in a conspiratorial kind of way.
 

            “Oh yeah?” I arched an eyebrow at Brooding Turner.
 

            “This is my boy Luke. Good man, Luke. Gonna make your boy Nicky a lot of money. Ain’t that right, Luke?”
 

            Brooding rumbled an agreement, the amused look never leaving his face.
 

            “Good man, good man. I’ll let you kids get to know each other.” And with that, Fury swaggered off, disappearing into the sea of bodies. In the living room the music slid back a step to the late sixties as “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” came on.
 

            “So it’s Bri, is it?” Turner asked, his voice teasing.
 

            “Brianna,” I replied, playing along for a second before narrowing my eyes. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
 

 

GUEST POST

Advice to aspiring writers by Kristine Wyllys

 

Since I first announced that I had a book deal, I've found myself being asked for advice more and more often. Sometimes, I'm able to distract the advice-seekers with pizza. I usually try. Because I'm not always convinced my brand of organized chaos is the best advice for someone to seek.

 

HEY LOOK OVER THERE AT THAT LARGE PEPPERONI PIZZA FROM THE PLACE OF YOUR CHOOSING.

Still here? Awesome. You fall into that other group then. Which is cool. You've just passed the most important writing test of all: you're impervious to distractions. And if you want to be a published writer you need to be able to ignore distractions. Otherwise those deadlines go sailing right past you and you're too busy studying that cloud shaped like a turtle to realize.

So since you're serious about this, or at least not hungry at the moment, here's the rest of my SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER list.

2.      Have a child? A pet? An action figure you love more than most people? Perfect. Look at that thing. Imagine how much you love it and want to protect it. Now imagine handing it over to someone and that person takes one look at it, throws it on the ground, then lights it on fire while screaming that your face makes them wanna puke shards of their pelvis. Painful, right? Nearly unbearable? This is what putting a book out in the world is like. You're giving your baby to someone to light on fire and puke pelvis shards on. Most people will not. Most people will be so wonderful it'll make you want to cry. But every once in awhile, someone will have matches in their pocket. Make peace with that.

3.      Writing is weird. You spend your time battling a blank screen and talking to characters in your head. It takes weird people to do it. Embrace that weirdness. Love your weirdness. Don't bother fighting it. Know that the process is mad and you're mad for it and worlds are born from that madness so it's beautiful. Listen to me. This is important. You're gonna find yourself in a closet one day screaming at whoever passes by it that you're a burrito. It's fine. It's cool. It's part of the package.

4.      Bloggers are wonderful, magical, lovely people. Appreciate them. Appreciate them hard.

5.      Don't be a jerk. This doubles as life advice.

6.      Remember that people are watching or the will be. So don't leave the windows open while you get plastered with your skirt tucked into the back of your pantyhose. Keep it classy. Or, at least, have on nice underwear.

7.      Write for you first. Everyone else second. If you're not in love with what you're doing, you can't expect anyone else to be.

8.      You are not an island. Find your people. It doesn't matter who they are. Find your people and keep them close. You're gonna need them.

9.      This is a subjective game. I'm sure you've heard that before and it's the truth. What one person loves, another will hate. Don't get discouraged by it. You're not gonna ever ever please everybody and that's okay. Because you'll please some people and that's awesome.

10.  Don't get caught up in the daydreams that you're going to be the Next Big Thing. It's okay to dream it. It's okay to have that tiny spark of hope inside of you that you will be. But at the end of the day, laugh, shuck your pants, and know that even if you never, ever see a best sellers list, your words are out there for others to read. You're living a dream.

Okay. Got all that? Splendid. So, how about that pizza now?

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Kristine Wyllys, who usually answers to, “Hey, You! With the Hair!” was born in the north and now resides in the northern version of the Carolinas. She lives in a farmhouse older than she is, with a bunch of property that makes her spontaneously break out in Dixie Chicks songs every time she looks out the back door. She's got babies, books, a boy that she fell in love with at 15, and a dog that might be a lesbian. She spends her spare time naming chickens after Harry Potter characters, breaking smart phones, and blogging.

 

 

Tell Me When

by Stina Lindenblatt

 

 

Amber Scott should be enjoying life as a college freshman. She should be pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She should be working hard to make sense of her precalculus math class. 

 

She shouldn’t be waking up her college roommate with screaming nightmares. She shouldn’t be flashing back, reliving the three weeks of hell she barely survived last year. And she definitely shouldn’t be spending time with sexy player Marcus Reid. 

 

But engineering student Marcus is the only one keeping Amber from failing her math course, so she grudgingly lets him into her life. She never expects the king of hookups will share his painful past. Or that she’ll tell him her secrets in return, opening up and trusting him in a way she thought she’d never be able to again. 

 

When their fragile future together is threatened by a stalker Amber thought was locked away for good, Marcus is determined to protect her. And Amber is determined to protect Marcus…even if that means pushing him away.

 

 

 

 

 

EXCERPT

 

“I’m fine,” I say as an idea plays out in my head. Paul was the last man who kissed me. I’ve got my life back, but I need more. Marcus is my chance for more, in a safe way. Besides, I can’t think of a better candidate for the position. He’s got to be a great kisser. Girls tend not to get all hot over guys with a reputation of being a bad kisser, right? And if I’m going to take back what Paul stole from me, what better place than to do it here, with Marcus? I mean, isn’t that what I’m paying him for? Kind of.
 

 “You’re right,” I say. “If we’re gonna do this right, you need to kiss me.”
 

Eyes narrowed, Marcus studies my face for a second, as if trying to read my mind, then his lips touch mine, again, as his arms wrap around my waist. He doesn’t push me further and I’m able to relax into him.
 

Gaining a little more confidence from not flashing back to Paul this time, I run the tip of my tongue against Marcus’s lower lip. He parts his lips and lets me tentatively explore the inside of his mouth. I focus on his spicy scent and on his strong body against mine. A body that’s nothing like Paul’s.
 

A kiss that’s nothing like Paul’s.
 

Unlike Paul’s kisses, Marcus’s kiss is hot, but I can tell, like me, he’s just going through the motions. He’s not really present in the moment. A side effect of being a man-whore, I guess.
 

I continue kissing him and feel something stir deep. I quickly stamp it down as I pull away. A subtle taste of victory courses through me.  My experiment, a success.

 

 

 

GUEST POST

 

Dear College-Aged Me by Stina Lindenblatt

 

 

 

Dear College-Aged Stina,

You’re a sophomore in university now. And to think your high-school guidance councilor told you you’d never succeed in university. One day you’ll prove him doubly wrong by obtaining your master’s degree. Go, you!

There’s something I want to warn you about. You’ll be hanging out with friends at Denny Andrews American Bar like you do every weekend. Your friends will be dancing, but you won’t be. A guy will start talking to you. He seems nice but he isn’t your type. You’re bored and happy to talk to him. Don’t. Walk away and join your friends on the dance floor. He’ll ask you for your phone number. Because the idea of dating scares you and because you aren’t into him, you’ll give him a wrong number. No big deal, you do that all the time. But this guy won’t get the hint when your number turns out to be wrong. He won’t get the hint when you tell him you know it’s wrong the next time you see him. Instead, he’ll take that as a sign that you like him. A lot.

Soon after, you’ll get a summer job at a horse-riding camp for the disable. You won’t make much money and the hours are long, but you’ll enjoy it. All right, you won’t enjoy mucking out the stables, but hey, that’s part of the job. You’ll meet some amazing kids who’ll make your day brighter. Because the job is more about the experience than a paycheck, you’ll have to keep your current part-time job. It’s the job you plan to continue with in the fall. The hours are perfect and you love it. And soon they’ll offer you a promotion. That means more money. Except, you won’t be able to take it. Why? Remember that guy you met at the nightclub and gave wrong phone number to? Well, he’s going to be stalking you. You see, you told him where you work and he shows up there one day to visit you. I don’t know how he knows your schedule, but he does. You’ll brush him off but he still won’t get the hint. Instead, he’ll apply and get a job there. And you’ll have to give up yours because you’re terrified at what could happen.

The good news is you’ll eventually get a new job in the fall, although you won’t enjoy it as much as the old one. As for the stalker, you’ll never see him again. You’ll go out with your friends to a different bar and you won’t be a sad statistic. But you’ll always be haunted by the memory of not feeling safe that summer and having to rearrange your life to avoid him—all because you thought no one would take your fears seriously.

Keep safe,

Future Stina

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Stina Lindenblatt lives in Western Canada, where she loves to dream up New Adult and Young Adult stories, especially those with romance. She loves to travel, and has lived in England, the US, Canada, and Finland. She has a Master’s of Science degree in exercise physiology and has worked with elite athletes. In her free time, Stina enjoys photography, especially the close-up variety. She is the author of TELL ME WHEN (01/20/14).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quicksilver Dreams (Dreamwalkers #1)

by Danube Adele

 

My name is Taylor, and damn but my life changed overnight. One moment I was just a regular girl working two jobs to pay my bills, and next thing you know, I'm uncovering secret metal disks at my boss's house. Now I'm reading minds, dream-walking and being saved from bad guys by Mr. Dark and Brooding.

 

That would be Ryder Langston, my new next-door neighbor. He's sex on legs, but he's also a secret agent from another world—no joke. I believe him now, because he dragged me back here "for my protection" after he discovered someone was trying to assassinate me on Earth. It isn't working out so well.

 

There's a war going on, one that's been fought for generations. Ryder's having trust issues (not that it's stopping us from falling into bed), and it turns out I'm connected here, if you know what I mean. The target on my back finally makes sense, but there's nowhere left to hide…

 

 

 

EXCERPT

Was this a dream?
 

Had I ever felt this lucid in a dream before?
 

I could feel the silky material around my eyes, on my wrists and ankles, softly sliding against my skin. With my body waking to sensual heat seeping through my veins, I only wanted to concentrate on what was happening in the moment, appreciate the swirl of masculine energy twining through the feminine threads of my own.
 

So good...
 

My dreams usually had a surreal, nondistinct, floating quality to them. This time, I actually felt a large, rough hand feathering over the skin on my rib cage, my flat stomach, agonizingly slow, avoiding obvious erogenous zones.
 

It was a hot, searing touch. It was like someone was actually there. Someone I wanted...
 

More... Like that... So good...
 

I could scent spicy soap that was subtle, yet distinctly male, arousing, and couldn’t help the feverish whispers of encouragement.
 

Oh, my God... Yes...
 

My sex dreams usually made me struggle with the frustration of a roller-coaster experience that never finished. I would ride a buildup of desire and a cool down, over and over, my imagination acting as a careless lover with wonderful intent but clumsy execution. This time there was no such neglect. The burn was exquisite, building and teasing, ebbing and flowing, but never forgetful and creating a fever that made me writhe with need.
 

Please!
 

Never had I ever felt this way before, chanting my demand, desperately wanting to reach the end of the ride.
 

Yes! Like that! Yes!
 

Sudden sensation poured over and through me, powerfully enough that I woke myself and sat up. My breath was short and gasping. My body was quivery and oversensitized. I was covered with a fine sheen of sweat, and my sheet was twisted in carefree abandon around my naked body.
 

I half expected to find a man in front of me.
 

Rubbing my wrists as though the soft bindings were still tied to me, I glanced around my sparsely furnished bedroom and felt my body quake with a small, faint aftershock. I was alone. Nothing was disturbed. At the same time that I drew comfort from seeing that everything in my world was still in its place, a faint echo of grief, or disappointment, took the edge off my contentment, like I was missing something. I was solo after such an erotic experience.
 

What about the hand? Who was it attached to?
 

A part of me had to give a mental headshake of exasperation.
 

No men for you. At least not yet.
 

The inevitable weight of responsibility, like a bucket of ice water, reminded me that I needed to work and pay the bills. I had to make ends meet. There was no one who was going to help me.
 

Usually, I accepted this with a matter-of-factness, but this night, a spike of resentment reared its head.
 

What would it be like to be a normal girl who had time for frivolity?
 

I quashed the thought immediately, too tired to let it take root.
 

Why fight the wave? I just had to ride it.
 

Settling back on my pillow, I once again closed my eyes and let the languorous effects of post-orgasmic lassitude steal over me. Strangely, as my mind once again stretched fingers toward my deep subconscious, the whisper of a gentle caress down my cheek didn’t frighten me.


 

 

GUEST POST

Bringing Characters to Life by Danube Adele

 

 

Starting a new story is one of the best feelings! It’s so exciting because the possibilities are all open, begging to be examined. It’s a new start, a new pathway, a new lesson to work through with my characters. It’s like finding spring at the end of winter, each time. To bring my characters to life, there are a number of things I like doing which help me pull as many ideas together as possible.

Each character gets their own brainstorm of ideas. I want to make sure I’ve got an image of what they look like, what their back stories are, what personal demons they fight every day, and what external conflicts are posing obstacles in their lives. Charting my plot is another great way to conceptualize my characters and their personal journeys. Using plain old notebook paper, I create a grid with approximately 20 boxes. Each box loosely represents a chapter. For each chapter, I try to list what I want my characters to accomplish, what scenes need to take place in each chapter to further the story. I look for where I’ll want to put my plot twists, where to build drama, where to add a bit of comedic relief and where to have the black moment.

Taylor Lane, my strong, but cute, female lead who lives her life trying to be a bad*ss, has a lot of strong personal feelings that the reader gets to hear from her thoughts. In Quicksilver Dreams, she’s snarky and clever, but we also get to see that she’s hiding her fears. She doesn’t let anyone know about the painful emotional gash that’s been a slow bleed all her life. As the author, it took time for me to get to what made Taylor tick. To get to the heart of my characters, I have another method that works well.  

Sometimes, my characters’ voices are difficult to hear, so I have them do a rant. I don’t even need to write it down because it’s more a thought experiment. I can be taking a shower (I do some of my best thinking in the shower – no distractions) and I’ll interview my characters in my mind. What TV do they likely watch? What kind of food do they like to eat? What would they think of the news going on in the world? How do they feel about their family situation? What region of the world are they from? What are their values? What’s most important to them? If they were going to stand on a soap box, what would they give passionate voice to? If I’m out in public and I see a situation, I ask myself how my character would view that, if they’d even notice it at all. It doesn’t mean that this information will make its way into the book, but it helps to crystalize the characters thought patterns and speech patterns for me. Knowing the answers to these questions will help shape how the character feels about the world they live in and the people they associate with. I strive to build a well-rounded character.

Thanks so much for spending time with me. Who have been your favorite characters in book?

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

 

Danube Adele wrote her first romance at the age of seven when she penned the sweet story of her dogs falling in love and having puppies together. She’s been dreaming up romantic tales ever since. A lifetime resident of southern California, she spends time playing at the beach, camping in Joshua Tree National Park, and hiking Mammoth Mountain. Always a lover of adventure, she and her husband took their sons on a cross country road trip to Florida and back in an old VW Westfalia, that had no A/C, in the month of July, and still, it continues to be the best trip they ever took. Extensive travel and trying new things has kept the creative spark alive. Danube lives in Claremont with her biggest fans, her loving husband, amazing and wonderful identical twin sons, and a teddy bear of a Rottweiler.

 

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GIVEAWAY

Prizes - Open INT - 2 winners will win this prize pack:
 

-Ecopy  - Stephanie Tyler - Redemption: A Defiance Novel (book 2 in trilogy)
-Ecopy  - Danube Adele - Quicksilver Dreams (book 1 in Dreamwalkers series)
-Ecopy  - Kristine Wyllys  - Wild Ones (book 1 in The Lane series)
-Ecopy  - Stina Lindenblatt  -  Tell Me When (book 1 in new series)
-One $25 Amazon gift card


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