Susan Squires’ Top 10 and Night Magic

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Welcome Susan! I love getting into an author’s head and often wonder what other authors enjoy in books. What are your top 10 favorite book-related things?

 

Susan Squire’s Top 10

I’m going to pick characters, because in my opinion all good books start with great characters. These are NOT in order of favorites. It’s more of a brain-dump list. J

  1. Duc D’Avon in Georgette Heyer’s These Old Shades. A classic. My husband read this book aloud to me because it was one of his favorites. It was the first romance I’d encountered outside English Lit class. I was hooked. You’ll recognize Avon in several of my heroes, from Sacrament to Time for Eternity.
  1. Gregory Bridgerton in Julia Quinn’s On the Way to the Wedding. Quinn is masterful at telling the reader Gregory needs to grow up without ever saying it. The first scene after the prologue is great. And of course he does grow up, which we love to see.
  1. Sookie Stackhouse in the first few books of Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. I loved the way Sookie was just a regular girl. Only not. Very southern, very small town. I thought things got too complicated later, but the first books were magic.
  1. Dave Robichaux in James Lee Burke’s mystery series. He’s so complicated! Ex-alcoholic, sheriff in and out of trouble for insubordination, takes in orphans of all stripes, and values truth, of course. He’s an admirable man who struggles with the harsh realities of the world.
  1. Stephanie Plum in Janet Evanavich’s numbered series starting with One for the Money. Who doesn’t identify with a woman who is smart, undervalued and struggles with her lack of coordination and her love of doughnuts? Honorable mention to Lula, her ex-prostitute side-kick. Night Magic - Book Cover
  1. Jack, the ship’s captain in Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander Actually this character should probably include Stephen, the surgeon/spy who sails with him. They are so complex, and their relationship so wonderful, they carry a 20 book series. I’ve read them all twice.
  1. Back to Georgette Heyer for a minute. Freddie in Cotillion is one of my favorites. He SEEMS like a hapless Regency man-about-town, engaged in all things social. Hardly a hero for the distressed Kitty. That would be Jack the handsome, daring and very broke rake, wouldn’t it? But Freddie has hidden depths that dear Georgette brings out slowly, until you realize with a shock that all along you shouldn’t have been rooting for Jack and Freddie is just the hero you want for Kitty.
  1. Speaking of Regency, I can’t let a list go by without mentioning Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I love his frustrated realization that perception can be reality. Only by throwing what people think of him to the wind to act as prompted by his generous heart, will he become the man Elizabeth Bennett can see is right for her. How many times have I read this book?
  1. Kinsey Milhone, from Sue Grafton’s alphabet mystery series. Any woman who keeps an all-purpose black dress rolled up in her trunk is my kind of heroine.
  1. John Blackthorne in James Clavell’s Shogun. Blackthorne is the everyman through whose eyes we see Japan in the 1600’s. He’s painfully flawed and limited, and yet he rises to the highest of occasions, and comes to understand and even embody the Japanese cultural ideals. Reading the scene of his attempted suicide changed the way I wrote forever.

So that’s it. It was a hard list to compile because there are ten more examples in my head clamoring to get on. I guess that’s because good characters are the reason we read books.

 

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Night Magic
SERIES – Magic Series
AUTHOR – Susan Squires
GENRE – Contemporary Paranormal Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – September 8, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 374 pages, 110,000 words (including excerpt from next book)
PUBLISHER – Susan Squires
COVER ARTIST – Rebecca Poole – Dreams2Media

 

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

DESTINY ISN’T CALLING. Kemble Tremaine is thirty-seven. He knows he’ll never get magic like the rest of his family. The Merlin gene has passed him by. No true love, no magic power to help the family in their fight against the descendants of Morgan Le Fay. Since it doesn’t matter who he marries, he asks his sister’s best friend, Jane. At least he’ll be rescuing her from a horrible home life.

CINDERELLA MISSES THE BALL. Jane Butler has loved Kemble since she was twelve years old. She’s well aware he’s not marrying her for love, but she hopes she can make him comfortable.

HAPPINESS IS RELATIVE. Comfort isn’t on the menu for the Tremaines. Kemble’s sister has been having visions of tragedy. The family finds one of Merlin’s precious artifacts, meant to increase the power of those with magic. Morgan and her Clan want it too. They can’t be far behind. Can Kemble and Jane find destiny in the face of danger and even death?

 

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EXCERPT

Kemble strode around the car without a word, got behind the wheel and slammed the door. His lips were a thin, determined line. Then he seemed to see her for the first time. “Jane, that…that cheek looks really painful.” His face contorted with an angry look. “I should have been over here first thing this morning.” He was angry with himself, of course.
“I could have gone to the doctor if I needed to, you know,” she said.
He snorted. “You never want anything for yourself, Jane. I’ll take care of that too.”
What did he mean by that? The motor purred to life and Kemble put his arm over the back of her seat to turn and look out the rear window as he backed out. His fingers brushed her shoulder. She closed her eyes as the sensation shot up her spine. Did he have to be so careless?
As they turned onto Palos Verdes West she glanced over to him. He was fairly vibrating with…nervous tension? Determination? She couldn’t quite figure it out. He surprised her by sliding into the little shopping center behind the Admiral Risty, an old-school, red-booth dinner place with a wide-water view of the Pacific. “Aren’t you going to be late for dinner at home?”
“Yes, I am.” He nodded his head convulsively. The man was sweating.
“You want to loosen the tie or something?” He really looked like he was about to choke.
“No.” He took a big breath and let it out slowly. Then he turned to her. “I have something I want to ask you, Jane. And I don’t want you to say anything until I’m done explaining.”
“Uh. Okay.” Jane was getting a very bad feeling about this. It was going to be something about what he wanted to do with her mother. She just knew it. And she wouldn’t be able to accept his largesse, so he’d try to bully her into it.
He looked out over the parked cars. “I’m never going to get magic. I talked to Senior and he agrees. We think the gene is recessive in me. I’ve known it for a while.”
She started to protest, but he held up a hand. It was shaking a little. That stopped her far more effectively than anything he could have said. He wasn’t the kind of guy to tremble.
“So.” He acted as though that settled everything. “So he agrees that I ought to get on with my life. Settle down. And if I’m not waiting for the bolt of lightning, well, then I can marry whomever I want. So I’m asking you.”
Jane felt like she’d been struck deaf, dumb and blind by that lightning bolt. Kemble was… asking her to… marry him? After all these years, he’d realized he loved her…
“Now don’t say no,” he rushed on. “Just because we’re not in love doesn’t mean this can’t work out. You need a refuge Jane, and if we marry, I can give that to you.”
Jane carefully shut her mouth, though that didn’t mean she could breathe.
Kemble looked down at his hands, still on the steering wheel. “The family already loves you. And I’ll make sure your mother is taken care of. Enough money cures everything, Jane, and if it’s one thing I have, it’s money.” His eyes were so earnest it might break her heart.
He’d given up. So he might as well marry her. Something heavy sat on her chest.
He got an anxious look. “So…uh…what do you think?”
She hardly trusted herself to speak.
“Oh. Wait.” He lifted his hips to get his hand into the pocket of his slacks, and drew out a small square velveteen box. It said the name of the department store at the top of the hill on the bottom. He fumbled with it until he got it right side up and popped it open. A diamond ring gleamed in the rosy light of the setting sun. The setting was simple, just a band with three medium diamonds set in it. They glinted in the afternoon light.
“I didn’t think you’d want one of those big diamonds that are always catching on everything. These… these are nice stones though.” He cleared his throat.
It was actually just the kind of ring she would want the man she loved to give her. But not like this. She took a breath. “Kemble, you don’t want to marry me.” It took all the courage she had to speak those words.
“But I do,” he protested. “You’re perfect. You’re smart. You’re a calming influence on the family, especially the younger ones.” His voice softened. “And marrying me will give you a place, Jane. Let me take care of you.”
She couldn’t marry Kemble when he didn’t love her. That would be too selfish.
He put the box with the ring on the dashboard and took both her hands in his larger ones. After the shock that went straight to her groin and the points of her breasts, what she noticed was that the warmth, the slight moisture born of his anxiety, enveloped her with his inherent goodness. She felt…maybe not loved, but at least treasured. “I need you, Jane,” he said. “And I think you need me too. Sometimes life just provides solutions we aren’t expecting.”
The words were simple, spoken from his heart. He needed her. It was the one ploy that might get her to agree to this. She couldn’t bear how unhappy he’d been lately. Maybe this solution freed him from the razor-sharp pain of wondering if magic would ever happen for him, thinking he’d never be good enough. She wanted to believe that, because suddenly, she wanted to throw all sense and caution off the cliffs at the Breakers and accept him. Married to Kemble Tremaine, just as she’d dreamed since she was fourteen. A real member of the Tremaine family, with a right to make tira misu for their dinner or cut fresh flowers for the table.
There was another problem. “What if you find your destined love after we’re married?”
“Never going to happen.” He shrugged as though it didn’t matter to him. But in his blue eyes she saw that it did. He wasn’t over mourning his loss yet.
But maybe someday he could be. Maybe time would heal his regret. Maybe they could have something together, if not true love, then companionship, respect. That was more than she was like to have any other way. “You have to promise me something, Kemble Tremaine.”
“Anything.”
He didn’t mean that, of course. He couldn’t give her the one thing she really wanted. And God, he was so close to her, he was overwhelming any sense she had at all.
“Promise that if you ever do find the one really meant for you, you’ll tell me. I’ll set you free the next moment with no regrets.” Well, none she wouldn’t have anyway, whether she married him or not. She’d always regret he didn’t love her.
His brows drew together sharply. He really hadn’t thought this out, had he?
Finally he nodded. “Okay.” He cleared his throat. “Does that mean you will do me the honor of being my wife?”
God help her. She nodded.

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AUTHOR BIO

NYT Bestselling author Susan Squires published twenty-two novels and novellas with Dorchester Publishing and St. Martin’s Press, as well as self-publishing her new Magic Series. She’s won the Golden Heart and the Holt Medallion, been a finalist in the Rita contest and garnered several Reviewer’s Choice awards from Romantic Times BookReviews. Publisher’s Weekly named Body Electric one of the most influential mass-market books and One with the Shadows a Best Book of Year. She lives at the beach in Southern California with her husband, who is also a writer, and two Belgian Sheepdogs who help her by laying their chins on the keyboardddddddd.

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B.L. Wilde on Tour: Hunger

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Hunger
SERIES – The Seductors Series
AUTHOR – B.L.Wilde
GENRE – Erotica/Romance/Suspense
PUBLICATION DATE – 6th June 2014
LENTH (Pages/# Words) – 60k
PUBLISHER – Author
COVER ARTIST – Jo Matthews

 

Hunger - Book Cover

 

BOOK BLURB / SYNOPSIS

When Jade walked out on Oliver six months ago, she left her heart behind. Little did she know her mission was far from over. Given a new mission—to secure a secret nuclear power core—she’s thrown back into his world and has to earn his trust once more. The only problem is that she’s competing directly with another Seductor that she despises, who has already been on the mission for two months.

Oliver was devastated when he discovered Jade had left him, so he closed himself off to the world, focusing solely on his job.

Everything is thrown into chaos when she resurfaces, working for an old friend of his.

Will Jade be able to win Oliver back while fighting her jealously that another Seductor might steal the mission from her? Consumed with love, controlled by a hunger she has never known, can she protect her heart a second time around if Oliver takes her back?

 

CHARACTER BIOS

Jade Phillips

Love had never been on the cards for Jade, but that all changed when she was assigned Mr Kirkham as her target in Desire .  She fell hard for Oliver and walking away from him was the hardest thing she’d ever done.

Now she is back, competing directing with another Seductor to try and steal a powercore from his company.

Will she be able to protect her heart a second time around if Oliver takes her back?

 

Oliver Kirkham

Trust has always been important to Oliver, and when Jade walked out on him 6 months ago, he lost the one person he thought he’d be able to confide in about anything.

Since her disappearance, he hasn’t stopped searching for Jade and the reason she ran.

When she unexpectedly turns up working for a friend of his, Oliver’s world is turned upside down. Can he forgive her for leaving him?

Following his heart has never been so difficult. For once his heart is overruling his head.

 

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EXCERPT

Alicia was standing outside Sonia’s office, talking on her phone when I arrived.

“No, really, it was me. I was clearly reading the signs wrong. I can’t apologize enough.” Alicia’s eyes gleamed with smugness when she caught sight of me entering Sonia’s office. What was all that about? “We’ll forget it ever happened. I shouldn’t have crossed my professional boundaries. I don’t want this to come between us…” I didn’t bother to listen to the rest of her conversation as my eyes caught Sonia.

“Jade,” she said as she stood up from behind her desk. That was new. Sonia never stood up for anyone. “You can close the door.” I closed it with a puzzled look on my face. “Alicia doesn’t know I’m bringing you in on this mission yet.” It was a mission! Thank God! No, wait…if Sonia was bringing me in, it could only mean one thing! Damn it!

“The mission involves working with Alicia,” I groaned, taking a seat in front of her desk. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad this is a mission, but do I have to work with her? Can’t someone else do it?”

“Jade, I’m afraid you’re our only hope. I’m about to go against everything I’ve ever done while running the Seductors, but I can’t see any other way around it. Alicia has been on this case for almost two months and has gotten nowhere.”

“You want me to take over Alicia’s mission?” I frowned. Since when had Alicia had a problem seducing a man? Everything started to dawn on me then, and I clutched the arms of my chair tightly.

“I need the two of you to work together. This steal…it’s asking a lot. We aren’t even sure if it exists.” Now Sonia was losing me. “If we secure what we’ve been hired to find, our clients are willing to pay over one hundred million dollars. Maybe even more. There is no real price for it.” I was sure my mouth fell to the floor. One hundred million dollars? What the hell was the steal? “Jade, I’m asking a lot of you here, but I’ve hit a wall. If Alicia can’t work her magic, it can only mean one thing.” With bated breath, I was hanging on her every word. “He isn’t over you.”

 

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AUTHOR BIO

B.L. Wilde is a British author obsessed with many things, including heated love stories. Supported fully by her husband, she can often be found at her desk working on her next project.

Her journey into the world of erotica began when she started writing online stories over three years ago, and she hasn’t looked back since.

 

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Mia Fox: Trust

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BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Trust
SERIES – Chasing Shadows
AUTHOR – Mia Fox
GENRE – Paranormal romance/contemporary romance
PUBLICATION DATE – July 20, 2014
PUBLISHER – Evatopia Press
PHOTOGRAPHY – Cathleen Tarawhiti
MODEL – Melanie Bevan
DIGITAL ART – Consuelo Parra
TYPOGRAPHY – Eden Crane

 

Trust - Book Cover

 

BOOK BLURB / SYNOPSIS

Ella’s struggle…
After losing Nate, trusting her heart to love again seems impossible for Ella. In spite of her family’s desire that she move on with her life, it’s the last thing she wants…especially since she has a connection to Nate’s ghost.

Ethan’s resolve…
Ethan knows about grief. Not only does he counsel people suffering from loss, he’s also lost a loved one. When he meets Ella, he makes it his mission to heal her broken heart. With time the boundary between patient and doctor blurs as Ethan finds himself falling in love. Yet he must suppress his feelings for fear of crossing a line that is based on trust.

Nate’s determination…
Being without Ella while in Afghanistan was hard. Having to say goodbye again is even worse. Although now a ghost, Nate can still make Ella happy when he visits. Their time together is precious, yet fleeting. Although being with Ella again is life’s sweetest gifts, Nate is desperate to heal her troubled mind and broken heart.

An unbreakable bond…
When Ella becomes increasingly reckless and sets off on a dangerous journey into the rugged wilderness, it’s up to both Nate and Ethan to find her. One man represents her past and one her future. One will use his marine training and the other his knowledge of psychology to keep Ella safe and help her…Trust.

 

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Book 1 – Believe (Chasing Shadows)

 

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EXCERPT

I loved Nate with all my heart and the tragedy of losing him became somehow manageable when his ghost visited me. I never would have believed, if it hadn’t happened so many times. But it’s real. It’s possible for me to still be with Nate — even if nobody else believes me.

Lily things I’m nuts, which is why she was so in favor of my being counseled by Ethan. If my work hadn’t insisted, I would never have agreed to it. And if I had known that being near Ethan would lead to even more heart ache, well…

At least he doesn’t make me feel as if I’m going crazy for saying that I can see Nate. He’s been through something this side of horrible as well. Maybe that’s why he’s the only one who doesn’t look at me with pity. Yeah, I could fall for him.

But in doing so, I would lose Nate. I just know it. I lose a bit of him every day and it just tears me apart to betray his memory, even when he tells me to go on with my life. The only way to figure out this mess of my life is to spend time away from both of them. So that’s just what I’m going to do. Looking out into the distance, I can see the high peaks of these mountains that encompass the National Parks Recreation Area. They extend for miles from inland valleys, up and over the passes, to the ocean shore. One could spend hours and days, weeks and months, and never have the chance to explore every inch of them. It was a perfect escape.

 

Trust - Author Photo

AUTHOR BIO

Mia Fox is a Los Angeles-based novelist who writes across varied genres including Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance, Steampunk, and Chick Lit. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications from U.S.C.

Before writing full time, she worked as an entertainment publicist, a career she chronicles in her novel, “Alert the Media.” However, she is happy to leave that world behind her, preferring that any drama in her life is only that which she creates for her characters.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, three children, Casey, the Wonder Westie, and Bean, his brother.

 

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One “Believe” necklace (“Believe” is book one of the Chasing Shadows series)
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Brandy L. Rivers: Nights Embrace

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Title – Nights Embrace
 

Series – Others of Seattle: Book 1
 

Author – Brandy L Rivers
 

Genre – Adult Paranormal Romance
 

Publication Date – April 2nd 2014
 

Length (Pages/# Words) – about 95k
 

Publisher – Brandy L Rivers
 

Cover Artist – Brandy L Rivers

Brandy’s top Ten

(These are in no particular order)

1 – My kids

2 – My husband

3 – Books

4 – Music

5 – Chocolate

6 – Caramel

7 – Coffee

8 – Men

9- Friends

10 – Driving and chatting

 

 

Book Cover 

BOOK SYNOPSIS
 

It all started with a song.
Roxana Nights was late to another gig, thanks to her first love, and drummer. It’s been years since she left Jordan, but he won’t let her go. Then she hears a voice that pulls her under a spell and changes her whole world.
Trevor Malone just moved to Seattle with his band. Music is his only passion, until he lays eyes on Roxana. He’s never felt anything as strong as the pull to her. Now he needs to find a way to introduce her to his world.
There’s only one problem. A rival clan won’t rest until they’ve taken Trevor’s down. Unwilling to let old grudges die, they target Roxy. Trevor will do anything to keep her safe.
Roxy will find that the world she writes is closer to reality than she ever imagined. She’ll also learn that not all monsters are evil, though some are ruthless.
Will love stay strong when the past comes out? Can they survive the centuries old vendetta?

 

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 TOUR-EXCERPT

 

She slipped past him, and onto the wings of the stage. Her gaze fell on Mr. Voice who was tall, dark and smokin’ hot.
Holy shit, I want to lick him.
Scuffed combat boots were laced up over black leather pants that clung to muscular thighs, and his black shirt molded to the most impressive set of abs she had ever seen. Roxy wanted to trace the ridges with her fingertips.
He turned, his voice dropping low as his eyes locked on hers. His words enveloped her. “… you’re the only one.”
Her heart paused a beat before slamming into her chest at a rapid pace. His full mouth lifted into a grin that spoke of confidence as he held her full attention. Entranced, she fell deep into his eyes and the world stopped.
Until a drumstick hit him in the head. He looked over his shoulder and shrugged sheepishly at his drummer before turning back to launch into the next verse.
Mikey gently shook her shoulder. “Hey, Rox, come on. We have to warm up.”
Her head bobbed in a nod at her brother, but she didn’t look over. She muttered, “Yeah, give me a minute,” or longer.
As if he heard, Mr. Voice glanced over and winked at her before the next song started. “Blinded by beauty, falling at first sight, head over heels…” There was raw passion in his voice, and she couldn’t help wishing he was singing about her.

 

Author Photo

AUTHOR BIO:
My name is Brandy L Rivers. I’m a wife and mother of three with an overactive imagination. I’ve been obsessed with monsters and magic for pretty much ever. I decided to write the stories that keep me awake at night.

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 Giveaway 
2 – signed copies of Nights Embrace with swag packs (US Only)
2 – $10 dollar Amazon Giftcards (International)
5 – eBook copies of Nights Embrace with Swag Packs (International)

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