And there was much rejoicing!  Yesterday Donna & I finalized the manuscript for Sanctuary’s Price, which came out just about 50k.  Since it’s a bit on the short side it’ll be released as an ebook in October and, if all goes well, in print together with the fourth book.  Books #1 & #2 are set to go to print as one volume in April (if I’ve got my dates right!)

So a lot of upcoming excitement for Red Rock Pass, and we’re working on book #4 right now.  But in the meantime…how about an excerpt from book #3?

After a decade under a corrupt alpha’s thumb, Dylan Gennaro is still reeling from the changes in his life: a new home, a new alpha, a pack at war. Even normal things like an ending relationship. Still, when he’s asked to work with an outcast witch, he agrees without hesitation. Maybe by protecting her, he’ll rediscover his own inner strength. If, indeed, it exists.</p> Sasha Wallace lost her mentor in a vicious attack that left her scarred in spirit as well as body. While she’s grateful for the refuge offered by the Red Rock alpha, it’s tough living with the pack’s suspicion. Even though–or maybe because–she’s willing to use her powers to help them fight their war. Except for Dylan. When she’s finally free to find a new home, he’ll be the only one she regrets leaving behind. Their attraction is a balm to their wounded hearts, until their journey for knowledge brings them face to face with a terrifying vampire. Neither has the strength for this fight–but if they can let go of their pasts and trust each other, they might just be able to do it. Together. Warning: Contains dangerous magical binding spells, a flannel-wearing vampire lumberjack, paranormal road-trip hijinks and a quietly brilliant werewolf willing to defy his society and his past to protect the witch he loves.

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

“Uncovered” by Linda Winfree

Buy from MBaM!
Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

ISBN: 978-1-60504-621-1
Length: Novel
Price: 5.50
Publication Date: July 7, 2009
Cover art by Anne Cain

Before she can build a future, she must dig up the bones of her past…

A Hearts of the South story.

After nearly twenty years, her career in possible ruins, homicide detective Madeline Holton returns to her hometown for a temporary stint working with the local sheriff’s department. The demons of her teen years lie in wait, rising once more in the form of a cold case she must solve. And when it comes to a handsome farmer who’s making good on her family’s former land, she can’t seem to keep her foot out of her mouth—or her hands off him.

Agricultural businessman Ash Hardison won’t lie to himself—despite Madeline’s obvious issues, he’s more drawn to her than any woman he’s ever known. He’s already laid the ghosts of his past to rest, and he’s determined to help Madeline purge hers. Whether she likes it or not.

Because he knows it’s the only way they have a chance to forge a future together.

Warning: Contains deadly secrets, a prickly heroine and a determined man who knows what he wants.

Read An Excerpt Online

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Some of these books I plan to do long posts about, but I figured I’d throw in an update on some of the books I’ve read and enjoyed recently.  They span genres from contemporary romance to sci-fi.  Oddly the only thing most of them seem to have in common is that I found out about them on twitter.  Apparently I’m a slave to the twitter masses now.

Fire & Rain by Elizabeth Lowell

Why I picked it up: A spirited discussion between Donna, c2s & Lauren Dane on twitter about the heroes in this Elizabeth Lowell series sparked my interest. Donna sealed the deal by saying the one thing she knows I can’t resist… “She’s his best friend’s little sister.”  Case closed.

Thoughts: Oh man.  Lauren Dane pretty much hit the nail on the head when she said Lowell walks a tiny, tiny line here.  There are a lot of authors who would have made me slam this book into the wall repeatedly, and not just the bad ones.  The hero’s the kind of surly asshole you feel guilty about finding so damn hot, and as Lauren remarked, that just makes it so much better.

Donna knows my secret buttons, so she sold it to me on the strength of the little-sister connection, and yeah. I loved it. No point in denying it.  I would have already read Outlaw too if I hadn’t misplaced the damn book during our move!

Recommended to: people who like their heroes full of angst, jealousy and self-denial.  Mmm, I love me some self-denial.  Oh, and you know, can’t discount the cowboy part.

Below the Belt by Sarah Mayberry

Why I picked it up: Twitter again! (You may find that to be a common theme here.)  I told Sayrui_x that I felt like I had an unhealthy relationship with the Blaze line since I keep going back even though the last few books I’ve picked out of the catalogue have been really horrible fits for me. She told me to get my hands on some Sarah Mayberry, and even though she rec’d a different book, I’d been eyeing this one for a while. Because, you know… a boxing heroine! Heck yeah!

Thoughts: Sayuri_x told me she’d yet to rec Mayberry to anyone who didn’t end up a convert. I believe her now! I’m having a hard time avoiding punny jokes about how this book knocked my socks off. But it did.  There was nothing about it I didn’t enjoy.  The heroine, the hero, the conflict, the plot and especially the resolution.  There were a lot of ways a typically portrayed alpha male ego could have turned this book into a depressing commentary on how women can only be tough before they fall in love.  No disappointments here.  And it made me love Cooper a lot.

Recommended to: People who like their heroines non-traditional and in touch with their sexuality.  Or who like tough, badass heroes who can get past their manly alpha hangups when it means proving that they love the heroine more than their own egos.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

Why I picked it up: Shannon C told me to. Okay, she told me to like, last year, but I was in a huge paranormal-only mood so in the end I picked up Ann Aguirre’s Blue Diablo first. Then I enjoyed it so much I finally got around to reading Grimspace, which I loved beyond love. Shannon might have said “Told you so” a few times. I will never doubt her again.

Thoughts: This is, without doubt, my favorite book I’ve read in the last few years. This book prompted me to fangirl Ann Aguirre in ways that I’m amazed haven’t provoked a restraining order yet.  (Don’t run, Ann, I’m harmless, I swear!) I’ve read my share of sci-fi and it’s always been a favorite genre, but sometimes I get a little emo that so little of it seems to be character-driven.  I like my social commentary and sweeping philosophical questions as much as the next person, but most of the time I’m reading a book for the characters.

I have rarely read a sci-fi book where the characters were this compelling, and interesting, and flawed and fabulous all at once.  Ann Aguirre’s main appeal for me is how much her books are truly ensemble stories, with challenges that can’t be met without the combined teamwork of all of the characters, and this is no exception. Just fan-freaking-tastic. (This book also turns me into an incoherent babbler. You should see the fanmail I sent about it.)

Recommended to: Fans of character driven sci-fi. People who like damaged heroines who learn and grow over the course of several books. Fans of badass, stone-cold killers on a path to redemption.  EVERYONE. (Okay, not people who only like romance. This is romantic sci-fi, not sci-fi romance.)

Laid Bare by Lauren Dane

Why I picked it up: I like damaged heroines. I really like damaged heroines who are damaged emotionally instead of sexually.  One late night (on twitter, of course) I was talking to Ann Aguirre about my love-on for damaged heroines, and she taunted me with how much I was going to love Laid Bare. A taunt because it doesn’t come out until August 4th, you see.  Luckily for me, Lauren Dane is a benevolent author who didn’t leave me suffering under Ann Aguirre’s cruel taunts, and so I scored myself an ARC. Rock the hell on! (Literally, the heroine is a rocker!)

Thoughts: Ann Aguirre was not wrong. Wow, Erin Brown is pretty much the heroine I’ve been looking for.  She’s smart, she’s tough, she’s down with her freaky side and perfectly okay with exactly what she wants in the bedroom.  I’ll admit, I’ve got a thing for heroines who intimidated past boyfriends with their badass sexuality. I loved her as a character, I cheered for her the whole time, and she made the book for me.

This book features two heroes and a heroine forming a lasting relationship, and I admit, I don’t read a lot of books like that.  Not because I’m averse to the hot sex with three people (and man this book was sizzling!) but because it takes a deft hand to tackle the complicated dynamics between three people trying to build a life together, and if any of those potential pitfalls are glossed over, I find it less satisfying.  Lauren Dane did an especially impressive job building this happily ever after brick by brick, until I really believed in it.  And oh yeah, did I mention the sex?  It’ll burn your eyebrows off.  Oh yeah it will! H-a-w-t, people.

Recommended to: Fans of tough heroines overcoming a traumatic past.  Anyone who likes the good boys who are bad in the sack, or the bad boys who are downright dirty between the sheets.  Or, you know, anyone who likes steamy hot loving.

Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

Why I picked it up: I think Donna found Diana Rowland on twitter first, but eventually I ended up following her too, because man she’s funny! And man her first book looked good.  Angela James spent some time taunting me about how she already had a copy (in case you don’t know, Angela James is actually a cruel temptress and a ninja, and you absolutely may not quote me on that) and eventually Diana took pity on us and let us read it. (I’m sensing a theme. Am I this pathetic in my twitterly whimpering?)

Thoughts: FUN! Yes, that is my first thought.  This was absolutely an awesomely fun book to read.  I liked the demons and the world building around them, and I enjoyed Kara’s (mis)adventures while trying to solve a serial killer case that she knows has plenty to do with the arcane.  Diana Rowland knows how to scatter the red herrings about, and she had me convinced that about 5 different people were the big bad during the course of the book.

I also really enjoyed her characters.  And in true Bree fashion I’ve already latched on to my favorite, but anyone who knows me should know that a cute fed who likes comic books has my heart from day one. I’m totally looking forward to the next book, which I hear comes out in early 2010.  Mark your calendars!

Recommended to: Fans of urban fantasy, people who are pretty sure CSI is lying when they turn around DNA results in 11.2 seconds, anyone who likes their bad boys so bad they might actually be Demon Lords.

* * *

So, those are a few of my favorite recent reads. What have y’all been loving on lately that I simply must try?

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Snippet Saturday has come again! And today’s theme is pretty awesome…the first meeting with the bad guy!

This meeting kinda goes to show that the bad guys in Southern Arcana aren’t always easy to pick out.  The world these poor characters live in is a veritable smorgasbord of grey area, where the good guys have bad days and the bad guys have good excuses.

Charles was a particularly alarming villain for me to write, because I had this terrifying moment half way through the book where the heroine started to agree with Charles.  His excuses were really good, and I was starting to think maybe the ends might even justify his means.  As it is, poor Mackenzie had a rough time with Charles, because it’s hard to be properly appalled by a villain who refuses to be downright villainous.

An Excerpt from Crux
Copyright © 2009 Moira Rogers
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

* * *

Time slowed to a crawl as Mahalia crumpled. Mackenzie lunged toward her, hitting the floor on her knees and sliding a few inches. She screamed Jackson’s name as she pushed Mahalia’s hair back from her face. There seemed to be blood everywhere, so much that, at first, Mackenzie couldn’t tell where the wound was.

“Mahalia!” She swore fiercely under her breath as she tore her shirt over her head, balled it up and pressed it against the wound. Shit, shit, shit—it was all she could think as panic made her heart race and she screamed again. “Jackson!”

Somewhere down the hall, Jackson’s strangled voice called out her name.

His voice cut off abruptly as a shiver claimed her, the same feeling she’d had in Memphis that had prompted her to abandon her car. Something bad was coming. Something dangerous. Her instincts screamed it, and now she knew them for what they were. Some bit of supernatural heritage, telling her the only way to save herself. Run, run, run.

But she couldn’t run, not with Mahalia on the floor, bleeding. Not with Jackson somewhere in the house, hurt or injured or under some kind of magical attack.

Steven. She needed Steven—someone who knew what was going on, who might still be close enough to help. She held her shirt to Mahalia’s head with one hand while she groped on the counter with the other, finally finding Mahalia’s cell phone. She fumbled and flipped open the phone, her hand shaking so badly she could barely read the display.

Fear for Jackson intruded again, and something feral inside screamed for her to abandon Mahalia and find Jackson, to curl around him and protect him. But, whatever had happened, Jackson would never forgive her for letting his mentor bleed to death on the floor.

And there was probably nothing she could do anyway.

Nothing but get help. Mackenzie took a deep breath and let it out before focusing on the phone again. “Steven,” she whispered as she found the address book. “Steven.”

The phone flew from her hand, skittering across the floor until it bumped into a polished black shoe. Her gaze jerked upward, and she found herself staring into a pair of ice blue eyes surrounded by wrinkles. She took in the man’s snowy white hair and neat suit.

Charles.

It had to be. The knowledge must have shown on her face, because he smiled and nodded. “Hello, Jessica. I see they’ve told you about me. That’s a shame, since I’m sure it was nothing flattering.”

She said the only thing she could think of, the only thing she could manage. “My name isn’t Jessica.”

Charles nodded. “Mackenzie, then. Marcus, please check on Ms. Tate and make sure she isn’t badly injured.”

“Sure, Dad.” Marcus moved around him and knelt next to Mackenzie. “Can I see?” He indicated the shirt she held to Mahalia’s head.

The entire situation was so surreal that she obeyed, pulling the shirt away before she remembered it was Marcus next to her, the man who had chased her across the country and destroyed her life. The man who thought they were destined to be lovers and have magical children.

The worst part was that the same voice that had told her to run was quiet now. Peaceful, as if maybe Marcus wasn’t wrong about their destiny and belonging together. The feeling made no sense, felt more animal than human, and she fought it with the memory of Jackson smiling at her, of the way her body thrilled when he touched her. That’s real, Mackenzie.

Marcus took the bloodied shirt from her and blotted at the cut just above Mahalia’s brow. “It looks bad. She needs help.”

Charles stepped close and bent down, brushing his fingers lightly along the top of Mahalia’s head. Mackenzie felt the prickling feeling again, like pins and needles from sitting still too long. A warm, tangible pressure grew slowly until Charles murmured a few words under his breath.

When he stood again, the cut on Mahalia’s forehead was gone. Mackenzie stared blankly before taking the shirt from Marcus and wiping the blood away. Underneath was smooth, unblemished skin, without even a faint scar to show the injury had ever been there.

“We don’t mean anyone harm, Mackenzie,” Charles told her quietly. “We will do violence if we must, to keep our kind from dying, but we don’t want to. Now if you’ll just—”

“What about Jackson? What did you do to him?”

Charles glanced at Marcus. “Jackson?”

“The spell caster who was helping her.”

“Ah.” Charles focused on Mackenzie again. “If he’s in the house, he was probably rendered unconscious by the backlash of Ms. Tate’s wards falling. I’m sure it will cause him no permanent damage. If you come with us now, we’ll explain everything.”

“No,” she whispered, her shaking fingers feeling at Mahalia’s neck for a pulse. It was there, weak but steady. “No. I’m not leaving them.”

Charles smiled gently at her, and it was more terrifying than if he’d been angry or cold. “Mackenzie, I’m afraid I can’t give you a choice. If you don’t come with us now, Marcus will bring you.”

* * *

Want t read more first meetings? Surf through our Snippet Saturday Crew! Leah Braemel, , Shelley Munro, Anya Bast, Cynthia Eden, SJ Day , Jaci Burton, Michelle Pillow, Juliana Stone, Moira Rogers , Sacha White, TJ Michaels, Lacey Savage, McKenna Jeffries, Jody Wallace , Eliza Gayle , Kelly Maher , Vivian Arend, Taige Crenshaw, Beth Williamson

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Lauren Dane’s got a contest starting today that’ll run for a month and give you lots of chances to win cool prizes.  And at the end of it all comes Laid Bare, a book you all want to read. 

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Happy July!  I come with winners in our Red Rock Pass contest, but for those of you who didn’t get a chance never fear, book #3 is due out in October and we’ll be having another cutlery contest soon!

But for now…

Grand Prize Winner

($25 to Books on Board & 1 Awesome Knife)
Melissa (kiara@…)

Five Runners Up

($5 to Books on Board & Cry Sanctuary)
Mary Preston (marypres@…)
Heather C (heatwave96@…)
Carol G (clynsg@…)
Kate Pinn (katiepinn@…)
david lateiner (mrlatts@…)

Winners should be receiving emails shortly! Thanks everyone for entering, and keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for a new short novella!

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Donna and I have a fair bit of food in our books.  We both enjoy cooking and baking.  A lot.  Left to our own devices the two of us might actually embrace some sort of back-to-the-earth thing where we grow and cook and make everything from scratch…as long as we had high speed internet. So food plays a not-insignificant part in a lot of books, though not always as the focus.  More to tell you about a person.

For example, Brynn in the Red Rock Pass series likes junk food. When she’s stressed out or worried she wants Twizzlers and Pop Tarts, and nothing else will do.  Alec in the Southern Arcana series, however, would be pretty happy if everything he ever ate was charred first over an open flame.  And then there’s Jackson… if Jackson starts making Italian food, you know he’s in the mood for romance.  And in Crux he broke out the marinara sauce.

An Excerpt from Crux
Copyright © 2009 Moira Rogers
All rights reserved — a Samhain Publishing, Ltd. publication

* * *

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Donna and I wrote two new short stories for Changeling Press that are coming out in July & September, and they’re both a little different. Even though the second one takes place after the first one, we wrote them at the same time.  Obviously they can be read out of order without too much difficulty then.

Savage Possession – July 2009

As a novice in the Temple of Luna, Avani is training for the day she’ll become a revered priestess, with the skills and magic needed to soothe the feral warriors fighting a brutal war against the world’s remaining human colonies. Though forbidden contact with the warriors who have come to the temple for relief, Avani can’t keep her distance from Rais, her uncle’s protégé and one of the most dangerous fighters the wolves have ever known.

As the royal heir, Rais is destined to take a mate and ascend the throne, but first he must complete his service as a warrior. The Savage Temple’s priestesses offer him relief in the meantime, though there’s one he’s vowed never to touch. He remembers Avani as the innocent girl she was when they met, but the intervening years have made her a woman. A woman the wolf burns to claim…

Savage Need – September 2009

Zahra has devoted her life to serving Luna.  The savage needs of the werewolf warriors can take their toll, and she serves as a healer, treating not only her fellow priestesses but anyone in need.  Still, she’s never seen anyone so wounded as Jarek, an old friend who’s been through hell–and doesn’t seem to remember her.

Jarek was always considered the most civilized wolf in his unit, a rare healer trained in werewolf magic as well as the medicine of their human enemies.  When an injury shatters his self-control the beast inside him takes over, leaving nothing civilized or reasonable.  Just the wolf, who remembers the scent of the mate he always needed and is determined to claim her at any cost.

I’m putting together an ARC contest now for a copy of Savage Possession, but in the meantime how about an excerpt?

Excerpt from Savage Possession</p> ( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

As some of you may have known, I bought my first house this week and Donna has been busily helping me settle in.  (Okay, our husbands helped too.)  This has been awesome because not only did our move take us away from the apartment of doom (Death Trap Since 2002!) but now I’m only a few miles from Donna which facilitates the plotting and writing and the randomly hanging out to watch movies.

So I’m a wee bit behind maybe, but there’s lots going on so time to tidy up a few of those loose ends!

• We picked a random winner to get a copy of Moira Reid’s latest release Deep Cover and that winner is Heather Brewer!
• You can still get in on the Sanctuary Lost release contest!
• And don’t forget the Last Call Europe contest!

Donna & I will probably spend much of July locked in the Bat Cave as we finish off Crossroads and deal with Crux galleys.  We do have a short story coming out on July 3rd though, so maybe we’ll have to give away an ARC soon.

I’m also thrilled that Linda Winfree’s agreed to sign a copies of her first five Hearts of the South books for us to give away.  (Okay, she’s signing the first six but you know what? I’m keeping Hearts Awakened and there’s nothing any of you can do to stop me, so nyah nyah.)

Also, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Lauren Dane’s upcoming book Laid Bare and wow.  That is one erotic, intense, fabulous read, and I’m not gloating at all or anything (except I totally am) but anyone who likes their heroines tough but a little broken, their heroes strong in all the right ways and their romance smoking hot is going to love it.  And since she’s going to let me give away an autographed copy, I get to share the love.

So that’s what I did last week.  What did y’all do?

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

You can all laugh at me for being That Guy now, because I’m That Guy more than I want to admit.  But hey, at least sometimes I realize it and shut up.

Now I’m going to go watch Firefly. Woohoo!

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Woohoo! Snippet Saturday is here, and this week the topic is seduction!  Or rather, the topic is failing to seduce.  I think there are a lot of ways to have a failed seduction, but I admit, one of my favorites is self-denial.  And it has to be denial because it’s not nearly so fun if the one denying themselves doesn’t want it like woah.  Of course, it’s also not as fun if the other party isn’t trying.

We picked this scene from Crux, partly because it’s a bit of an odd seduction and partly because it contains some of our (or at least my!) favorite lines in the book.  (And yeah, Donna wrote them…I usually like her lines more than mine.)

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

The vast amounts of LJ fail we've had of late means we had to rethink what we were doing over here, and in the end since our blog has been a bit revamped we're just crossposting between the two accounts. 

Anyone who finds that to be waaai boring, please do go ahead and axe the hell out of us.  We will not cry!

I do still read our f-list and comment sometimes, though I blab more on other journaling services where Donna and I are not joined at the cyberhip.  ;)

So what's the blog revamp? Lots of contests because people keep saying they'll let me give away signed copies of their books (how freaking rad is that?!) and blabbing about writing, the joys and perils and probably the hot men because, let's face it, shallow.

Yes. So. That is the situation. Do with it what thee will, my friends!

Speaking of, how the heck is everyone?

-Bree

It’s contest central around here this week, but that’s okay. I love giving away prizes, and today we’ve got a good one! Leila Brown has donated $75 in Restaurant.com gift certificates, and Donna & I are throwing in a few copies of the previous Last Call books. So it’s a give-away bonanza!

First off, for those of you who have never heard of the series, the Last Call books are short, wicked erotica tales that are all about supernaturals finding that special someone (or someones) who can help them ease their otherworldly needs.

We had fun writing the stories, but more than once we were asked if we’d ever throw the series open and let other people write them. It was an interesting idea, so earlier this year we did just that. The result is Last Call Europe, serving up paranormal fun on a new continent!

Leila Brown wrote the very first of the Last Call Europe books, bringing us a naughty tale of leprechauns!

There are two ways to enter the contest. The first is to buy a copy of Irish Creme. We’ve arranged with Changeling Press to secure a 5% off coupon, good for your entire order. So to enter the contest (and to save money!) use the coupon code IrishCreme when checking out, and your name will be tossed into the virtual hat five times.

The second way to enter is to reply to this post and tell us which of the existing Last Call books you’d most like to win. You can find blurbs for all of the Last Call New York books by clicking on the covers above, or visiting the series page. So tell us which book strikes your fancy, and you just may win a copy! (You have to pick one, though–no saying you’d like to win all of them or I’ll know you didn’t read the rules. See how tricky I am?)

Contest runs through July 15th, and winners will be announced around July 20th. So fire up your browsers and have fun!

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Brynn was a challenging but fun character to write, and I credit most of it to the fact that she’s harder than most of the heroines I’ve written lately.  I like inner strength and a level of toughness in all of my heroines, but Brynn has more than that.  She’s a little cynical, maybe even a little cold, and I didn’t want that to be her overwhelming trait.  So sometimes it felt like walking a tightrope!

( Read the rest of this entry » )

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Deep Cover by Moira Reid, on sale today at Loose Id.

Ever wonder what it would be like to kiss an alien? Sure, you have. Okay, maybe you haven’t, but I did. Of course, I never pictured them all green and scaly or with those big upside-down-pear-shaped heads and glassy eyes. I saw them more like Hugh Jackman. Or Gerard Butler. Yum. My aliens would be gorgeous, oh and they’d have “special powers.” Yep, you know what I mean. That’s my kinda aliens.

Well, the last book I loved about aliens was in the 80’s–remember The Outsider by Barbara Delinski? Loved that book. Sadly, she never wrote another one like it, so I made up my own. Created an alien and named him Butch (after a stuffed blue dog I had as a kid, but that’s hardly relevant), stuck him on Earth as a criminal, and among other things, gave him the power of the palm. Ah, the palm…

Here’s the first time we see it in the story:

Who’s this woman he’s considering? One he must protect from a marauding fellow alien, but not just any woman–Claire Simonson–a woman who doesn’t want to be protected. At all.

Then things turned wild–sexy, dangerous, and full of intrigue. More special powers. The military. Family–and like most families, filled with secrets that always come out.

The blurb:

Undercover extraterrestrial Butch Markham is hanging out until the mother ship comes back. Trouble is while he’s waiting, he has to guard the inimitable Claire Simonson. Good thing, too, because after two attempts on her life, it’s abundantly clear these are some serious-ass ET’s with plans for her–and it ain’t a week in Bermuda.

From Claire’s point of view, Butch is a handsome, hunky, annoying pain–he knows it, and doesn’t care. He’s taking over her life–no more working, no going out–just him right next to her every minute. Hard to tell which is worse: the possibility that the killer will finally get to her or that Butch will.

So fun to write I ended up writing two more stories in the same world–I’ll keep you posted on those. Meanwhile, Deep Cover comes out on June 16th, and I’d love to hear what you think of it. Send me an email after you read it, and I’ll send you a freebie story. Two for one–that’s how we roll in alienland.

Bree’s Question to You: Moira Reid has generously offered to give one lucky reader a digital copy of Deep Cover.  For a chance to win an ebook answer me this question: who is the hottest alien around?  (You have until Friday, June 19th!)

Personally, I’m going to cheat and go with Han Solo. He’s an alien, right? (RIGHT?)

Read more about DeepCover at Loose Id’s website!

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Okay, so I’m a little late getting our release day contest up, but with my home office in shambles and seven days to closing on the new house, hopefully everyone will cut me some slack. 

And speaking of cutting–yes! After the last post I went ahead and went for it! We are giving away a few things in honor of our latest release, but my favorite is this awesomely wicked looking replica knife, good for the next time you’re kidnapped by angry werewolves. (By which I mean to say–good for showing off?)

Mystical weaponry plays its part in the Red Rock Pass books, as witches and wizards have been at war with the werewolves for long enough that creating magical weapons meant to injure the wolves can be a profitable sideline.

But that’s not all!  We’ve also got 5 copies of Cry Sanctuary to give away, for anyone who’d like to discover the series for the first time, as well as some gift-certificates.  And thanks to the magic of Sprout we have a cool sharing graphic!

Grand Prize: A collectible knife & $25 gift certificate to Books on Board
Five Runners Up: $5 gift certificate to Books on Board + Cry Sanctuary

To enter, reply with the following:

1. Werewolf or Wizards: whose side would you fight on?
2. Optional: Did you share the graphic anywhere?

Contest ends June 30th, 2009! Go crazy! And if you’re interested in checking out the madness, take a peek at Sanctuary Lost, available as an ebook now from Samhain Publishing.

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

It’s been a bit quiet around Ye Old Blog this week, and though I could blame it on release week shenanigans, anyone who follows Donna & I on twitter knows the truth–I’m moving in just over a week and it’s making life quite entertaining in the meantime.  But regardless, thank you to everyone who bought Sanctuary Lost (or Cry Sanctuary!) and especially those who wrote to tell us about it.  You made an otherwise dreary week so much better!

We’ve both been plenty busy this week.  Donna’s finishing edits on Sanctuary’s Price, and I’m shoving everything I can into boxes.  Except for the books on my desk, which I kept telling hubby he couldn’t pack.  As you can see the stack got a little out of control before he finally threw up his hands and told me to pick the ones I’d need in the next week.  But as you can see, I’ve been reading some awesome books, and I am looking forward to some serious fun having book giveaways once I settle into the new place.

Among other things, we have a new novella coming out on July 3rd.  (Coincidentally, that’s also my 5th wedding anniversary.)  Savage Possession is the first of two novellas we contracted with Changeling earlier in the year.  We’ve written them both, and they’re coming out in July & September respectively.  And I uploaded an excerpt here!

Yesterday I was at a garage sale with a friend who used to run a sword shop.  I was looking over the merchandise he was selling and I found this awesome, terrifying looking knife and thought it looked a lot like I’d envisioned for a particular scary, enchanted knife in Sanctuary Lost.  So I snatched it up and brought it home, thinking it could be a cool give-away on the blog.

And then I paused and wondered if perhaps I’m the only person who’d want to win a scary looking magical knife.

So what do you think, blog readers? Anyone else interested in gigantic decorative cutlery? Or is my inner geek showing too much?

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Snippet Saturday’s running late today because I’ve had a small mishap with having no power. So today I’m posting from someone else’s wireless from a yard sale, which is an adventure in and of itself. (Also, I’m under a tent and it’s raining.)

Having gotten that out of the way, today’s theme is deleted scenes. This scene is from Sanctuary Lost, and it’s one that we wrote during revisions to expand a little on the heroine’s relationship with her sister, but in the end it didn’t add as much as we wanted it to. So it hit the cutting room floor.

* * *

Brynn dragged a comb through her hair and watched as Abby methodically folded her clothing and tucked it into the duffel bag she’d brought from Keith’s house. Joe had stepped outside with the alphas under the guise of giving Abby and Brynn privacy to get ready for bed, but she had no doubt they were standing on the front porch having another one of those low-voiced, serious discussions that always broke off whenever she strayed too close.

The comb hit a snarl, and she winced as she untangled it. “Can you hear what they’re saying?”

“Yes.” Abby spared her a short glance. “They’re talking about Alan Matthews.”

Ice flooded her veins. Brynn shivered and wrapped the heavy comforter more tightly around her body. “So I guess it was too much to hope he’d die of an infection or pneumonia or terminal assholishness.”

“No,” Abby said flatly. “No, not him. That would be too easy.”

Terrifying to think that surviving what Abby had done to him would be considered easy. Then again, Abby’s injuries had already healed. Brynn’s bruises and superficial scratches would linger for days, a constant reminder that she was out of her league.

And not just to me. It was bad enough that Abby’s gaze kept lingering on the bandage Joe had taped to Brynn’s arm, but she’d caught him giving her that same worried look more than once. From Dylan and Keith it was annoying but tolerable, but the last thing she wanted was for Joe to join the ranks of her self-proclaimed big brothers.

When she spoke again, Abby’s voice was hoarse. “I’m sorry I got you into this, brat.”

Brynn’s fingers clenched around the comb, and the teeth dug into her palm. “Abby, don’t be stupid.”

“Sure, Brynn.” Despite her agreement, Abby stared down at the duffel. “You weren’t supposed to come back to the house. You were supposed to stay here.”

“I couldn’t. I couldn’t just sit here and wait.”

“You have to listen to us, or you’re going to wind up dead.” Abby’s words and tone were matter-of-fact, almost detached. “You have to.”

She opened her mouth to inform her sister that she’d already come up with a solution, but closed it again and rethought her angle of attack. “What if that’s the whole point? They know you’ll walk into anything for me. How do you know they’re not hoping you’ll send me running off blindly into the woods to huddle in a cabin by myself? What would I do if they came here while you two were off being Rambo and Xena?”

“Even if they did, they’d bring you back to me.” Abby cinched the bag and dropped to the bed beside it. “They wouldn’t kill you unless I was there to watch it.”

It was chilling to have her worth so clearly defined. Brynn fought another shudder and closed her eyes. “Keith will be back tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. But I think you should stay here with Joe, even after Keith comes home.”

As appealing as the thought was—and oh my God, is it appealing—she had a hard time imagining Abby would approve of the illicit fantasies Brynn’s proximity to Joe conjured. Because she thinks you’re still twelve.

Brynn had to clear her throat, and she still didn’t sound as casual as she would have liked. “Why do you think I need to stay here?”

“Because Joe can protect you.” Abby stared at the floor. “And…because they wouldn’t kill you unless I was there to watch it.”

“Oh.” The reminder neatly killed any thoughts of flirting and naughty touching. Brynn pulled her hair over her shoulder and started to rebraid it. “If you’re sitting over there thinking about how my miserable life is your fault, I’m going to make you go stay with Dylan. The two of you can moan about how you ruin everything you touch together. I bet it’ll be a blast.”

Abby rose with a soft, angry growl. “Make fun of me if you want. Just listen next time.”

Brynn yanked at the hair band around her wrist so hard it snapped and left a stinging welt on her skin. She released her braid and tried not to yell something immature. Calm and reasonable was the only way to combat Abby’s conviction that her little sister was too young to make decisions on her own. “I’m sorry, Abby. I’m not making fun of you. But it’s not your fault that Matthews is a nut job. Sometimes you just have to let assholes be responsible for their own shit.”

“That used to be easier,” Abby said quietly.

“Liar.” Brynn tossed the broken elastic at her sister. “Sorry, Ab. You can’t blame your universal responsibility on the werewolf thing. You’re talking to me here.”

The corner of Abby’s mouth ticked up. “Fine, it used to be easier to pretend.”

“Well, you need to get over it either way.” Without another hair band, she had no choice but to shake her hair loose. She’d deal with the mess of tangles in the morning. “We’ll figure things out when Keith gets home, right? I mean, that’s what Sam and Gavin said. That we’d all sit down and talk it out.”

“That’s the plan.” Abby sighed softly. “I should go out and tell them we’re okay.” Her eyes met Brynn’s, and she tilted her head. “Are we?”

Brynn didn’t even know if she was lying when she managed a smile and replied, “We’re okay.”

Likewise, Abby didn’t really look like she believed her. “Yeah.”

“We will be, then. Is that better? Tell them that.”

Her sister hesitated with her hand on the doorframe. “Brynn, I don’t think it matters what we say.” Then she left.

Brynn shivered and settled back against the pillows, determined to pretend that her sister’s words were the result of exhaustion and fear, not hopelessness. Abby could be stubborn, obnoxious, a little close-minded—at least where her baby sister was concerned—and she was always cautious. But never in her life had Brynn seen hopelessness in her eyes.

You have now.

The thought was more chilling than the attack had been.

* * *

Want more outtakes? Check out our fellow Snippet Saturday participants! Cynthia Eden, Victoria Janssen, Lauren Dane, Leah Braemel, McKenna Jeffries, Moira Rogers, Sylvia Day, Vivian Arend, Mark Henry, Shelley Munro, Jaci Burton, Mandy Roth, Eliza Gayle

Originally published at Moira Rogers = Bree + Donna. You can comment here or there.

Length: Category Novel | Rating: Hot
Genre: Paranormal Romance | Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Themes: Shapeshifters, Military Men, Badass Alpha Men, Shapeshifter Dominance Games, Supernatural Politics

Check it out at Samhain Publishing!