Vibrizzio by Nicki Elson

Title: Vibrizzio

Author: Nicki Elson

Genre: Contemporary Adult Romance

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Publisher: Swoon Romance

Summary:
Lyssa Bates doesn’t need a man. Not when the world is fully-stocked with double A batteries and a wide array of options in Amazon’s health and sexual wellness category. After yet another failed relationship, the twenty-six-year-old investment analyst is convinced that real guys aren’t ever going to live up to her expectations—so why should she bother with them? She’s determined to keep her dating life purely electronic…though she occasionally fantasizes about Hayden King, the delicious new associate she just got partnered with at work.

While Lyssa manages her romantic risks by deleting men from of the equation, the ever-charming Hayden protects his heart by diversifying his love life across multiple women. As the two young professionals travel together around the country for business, their flirty working relationship develops into a close friendship that hurtles toward something more. Between hot tub confessions in Baltimore, an accidental kiss in Dallas, and an all-nighter in Chicago, Hayden proves himself to be better than any fantasy.

1. What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I just love love, I guess. The first story I ever wrote happened after a beloved series ended (Harry Potter). My heart broke for a character whose story had wrapped up rather pathetically. I was compelled to give him his happily ever after and ended up writing a novel length fanfiction. After that I became addicted to making up my own characters and giving them their HEAs too.

2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process (outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
The second and third drafts are my favorite phase of the writing process. Facing blank pages during the first draft is so intimidating to me. I like to have a blob of words that I can mess around with and mold into something better. Tied with that is the “noodling” phase—when the story is forming in my mind and I think and think and think about it (some might call it daydreaming).

3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
Epic fantasies are my favorite to read. I love getting transported other worlds filled with magic and mythical beings. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is on my reading agenda for the summer. I also enjoy a good contemporary love story as well as classics like Emma, Jane Eyre, and Gone with the Wind. The one thing any book I read has to have is humor. I can’t love anything that doesn’t make me laugh.

4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
I think Jane Austen and I could have a really good time cookin’ something up. I’d love to talk her into co-writing a sci-fi Regency-esque romance with me.

5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
I definitely fall into the “late bloomer” category. I realize now that I’ve always had stories playing around in my head, but I never sat down and actually wrote one all the way through until I was a mom with two kids in grade school. At the time I had a super boring part-time day job, and that’s what I credit for giving me time to let my mind wander. I became so obsessed with my recurring daydream that I had to write it down.

Before that my writing was business related—financial reports, memos for the PTA, that sort of thing. I developed a passion for words and communicating ideas, so it was only a matter of time before I turned that passion toward fiction.

Thank you so much for having me over during the blog tour! I had a blast writing VIBRIZZIO, and I hope readers will have as much fun reading it.

Author Bio:
Writing wasn't something Nicki set out to do; it just sort of happened when she realized writing reports was by far her favorite part of her investment consulting position. She traded stock allocation and diversification for story arcs and dialogue and now weaves her creative writing time in with the other activities of her busy life with her family in the Chicago suburbs.

Nicki writes with two goals in mind: #1 to keep the characters realistic, even when their circumstances are anything but, and #2 to make the reader feel. Watch for her new title Vibrizzio, coming in 2015 from Swoon Romance. Her published works include Three Daves, a light-hearted romantic romp through a 1980s college campus, Divine Temptation, a romantic novel of angelic proportions, and Hans & Greta: a Twisted Fairy Tale Novella. Her published short stories include “Sway” (available as a single), “I Don’t Do Valentine’s Day” (part of A Valentine Anthology), and “Impressionism 101” (included in the debut issue of Insatiable: The Magazine of Paranormal Desire.

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Monday's Montage Mantlepiece: A Pride of Poppies-Modern GLBTQI fiction of the Great War

Summary:
Modern GLBTQI fiction of the Great War

Ten authors - in thirteen stories - explore the experiences of GLBTQI people during World War I. In what ways were their lives the same as or different from those of other people?

A London pub, an English village, a shell-hole on the Front, the outskirts of Thai Nguyen city, a ship in heavy weather off Zeebrugge, a civilian internment camp … Loves and griefs that must remain unspoken, unexpected freedoms, the tensions between individuality and duty, and every now and then the relief of recognition. You’ll find both heartaches and joys in this astonishing range of thought-provoking stories.

***Please note: All proceeds will be donated to The Royal British Legion.***

The Stories
No Man’s Land by Julie Bozza
Drew was born neither boy nor girl, but he was raised as a man, and now he is desperate to enlist to prove himself. His lover, who fought in the Transvaal twelve years before, is just as desperate to dissuade him.

I Remember by Wendy C. Fries
Time goes tick-tock forward, turning boys into men and men into soldiers, but sometimes a man is left behind. Christopher Timlock meant to join the London Regiment with James Gant, but the British Army had other ideas. So Chrissie made a promise: he would wait for Jamie, for as long as it took. And he would remember.

War Life by Z. McAspurren
During the war, people lived their lives in different ways. Even separated by a country, however, a sister and a brother’s thoughts circled around similar ideas. One was a worker in a factory, and the other was on the Front Line; both had something important taken from them because of the war, and the thing they’d lost had a way of always entering their minds.

Lena and the Swan or, The Lesbian Lothario by Julie Bozza
While the men are away, Lena will play … She delivers the mail, and happily takes advantage of some of the women on her route whose husbands are at war. But then a Miss Cawkwell moves into the house at Fields Corner, and Lena’s world begins to shift.

Inside by Eleanor Musgrove
Alfred Schuchard is a baker, the English-born son of a German immigrant, and stuck in a civilian internment camp for the duration of the war. The last thing he needs is for life to get any more complicated. But then a new arrival at camp turns what little still made sense in his world on its head.

Break of Day in the Trenches by Jay Lewis Taylor
Escaping from the German lines hasn’t gone to plan. Second Lieutenant David Lewry is sheltering from the barrage in a German dug-out, literally thrown together with Captain David Russell-Hansford-Barnes. Although the two seem to have nothing in common beyond their first name, they share two things: a desire to get back to the British lines, and a desire to live. Then, as they talk through the wait for dawn, the realisation comes on them that they share still more.

Per Ardua Ad Astra by Lou Faulkner
Summer, 1916. The survival of the young aviators of the Royal Flying Corps depends, more often than not, on absolute trust and teamwork. On the eve of the Somme, two such young men watch the storm-clouds gathering, and prepare themselves as best they can for what is to come.

The Man Left Behind by Eleanor Musgrove
Henrietta’s not happy about the men – her brother included – marching off to war, of course not. But perhaps every cloud, however dark, does have a silver lining?

Hallowed Ground by Charlie Cochrane
A doctor, a padre, a packet of Black Cat cigarettes and a night in a shell hole; an unexpected confession provides a ray of hope in the darkness.

A Rooted Sorrow by Adam Fitzroy
The war has an effect on those at home, too. Mrs Mercer, preoccupied with thoughts of her son, learns about Simon’s love for Alfred – a startling contrast to her own unhappy marriage. But what will the implications of this knowledge be, and how might it possibly influence their future lives?

At the Gate by Jay Lewis Taylor
Aboard HMS Arion, ploughing southward in heavy weather to a rendezvous off Zeebrugge, Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander Alan Kershaw has much to contend with: seasickness, anxious messmates, and the depredations of the ship’s rat on his medical texts, for a start. Worse than all of these, however, is having to keep his grief secret when anyone else would be allowed to mourn …

After & Before by Sam Evans
It is 1918 and the Great War is drawing to a close. Life in Britain has changed. Men are returning home injured, traumatised and severely damaged by what they have seen on the Front Line. Dr Robert Wallace was never one of those men. Disabled by a motorbike accident and unable to fight, he now cares for the men who went out there and did their duty – men like Wilfred Cahill, Robert’s lover, who left him four years before to go to war.

Ánh Sáng by Barry Brennessel
They met as boys in the Tonkin region of French Indochina. Years later, as war rages in Europe, the relationship between Bùi Vân Minh and Ngô Công Thao is tested in ways they never imagined. France clings desperately to her colony as a growing surge of independence sweeps through Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina. The two men are caught up in wildly different circumstances, but the one constant they have is each other.

Author Bios:

Julie Bozza 
I was born in England, and lived most of my life in Australia before returning to the UK a few years ago; my dual nationality means that I am often a bit too cheeky, but will always apologise for it.

I have been writing fiction for almost thirty years, mostly for the enjoyment of myself and my friends, but writing is my love and my vocation so of course that’s where my dreams and ambitions are.

In the meantime, technical writing helps to pay the mortgage, while I also have fun with web design, photography, reading, watching movies and television, knitting, and imbibing espresso.

Barry Brennessel 
When Barry’s first collection of stories was read aloud by his second grade teacher, the author hid. As the years flew by, he wrote more, hid less (not really), and branched out to Super 8 films and cassette tape recorders. Barry’s audience—consisting solely of friends and family—were both amused and bemused.

Since those childhood days, Barry has earned degrees in English and French from the State University of New York College at Brockport, and a Master of Arts in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University.

Tinseltown, a Finalist in the 24th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, is Barry’s first novel. His novel The Celestial won the Gold Medal in the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards and was a Finalist in the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards. Reunion, a collection of linked stories, was a Finalist in the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards.

His work has appeared in SNReview, Perspectives, Time Pilot, Liquid Ohio, Nocturnal Lyric, Midnight Times, Gival Press’s ArLiJo, and Polari Journal. His stories, novels and teleplays have won awards, including a 2008 Pushcart Prize nomination; 3rd Place in the 2010 Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) literary contest and finalist status in the 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, and 2013 PNWA contests; 3rd Place in the 79th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition and a winning entry in the 2013 WILDSound Screenplay competition.

When not embroiled in his own writing, Barry sips wine, nibbles on chocolate, and watches films and TV—both the classic and the cheesy. (Mmm…cheese!)

Charlie Cochrane 
As Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice - like managing a rugby team - she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries, but she's making an increasing number of forays into the modern day. She's even been known to write about gay werewolves - albeit highly respectable ones.

Her Cambridge Fellows series of Edwardian romantic mysteries were instrumental in seeing her named Speak Its Name Author of the Year 2009. She’s a member of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and International Thriller Writers Inc.

Happily married, with a house full of daughters, Charlie tries to juggle writing with the rest of a busy life. She loves reading, theatre, good food and watching sport. Her ideal day would be a morning walking along a beach, an afternoon spent watching rugby and a church service in the evening.

Sam Evans 
Sam Evans lives in the North West of England in a town semi famous for its rugby. By day she works for mental health services in Manchester. By night she put the words in her head onto paper but only if a shiny computer game doesn’t distract her first.

Having found her way to the genre through a pack of wolf shifters, she was pleasantly surprised when the fictional characters her head fit into place when only men were involved. Now she can’t shut them up.

Sam is thankful for a boyfriend who makes her cups of tea and who doesn’t mind that she isn’t a domestic goddess.

Her stories are set in and around Manchester, with the odd excursion to the British coastline (or Cyprus for the weather).

Lou Faulkner
I live in a little house with a big garden in the far south of the world, and most of my life has revolved around books: selling them, lending them out, and more recently, writing them. Apart from bibliophilia, I’ve done a variety of different things, including years spent learning falconry, and I enjoy trying hands-on pursuits that might give me material for my stories: blacksmithing, tall-ship sailing and flying. I will attempt things in my writer’s persona that I would never contemplate as myself: this does not, however, extend to bungy-jumping.

Adam Fitzroy 
Imaginist and purveyor of tall tales Adam Fitzroy is a UK resident who has been successfully spinning male-male romances either part-time or full-time since the 1980s, and has a particular interest in examining the conflicting demands of love and duty.

Wendy C. Fries
Wendy C. Fries is the author of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson: The Day They Met, and has written hundreds of features on high tech, personal finance, and health and wellness. She’s fascinated with London, theatre, scriptwriting, and lattés.

Z. McAspurren
Z. McAspurren is an aspiring writer from Scotland, with a larger Disney DVD collection than she’d like to admit. She holds a BA in Social Sciences, focusing on history and criminology, and continues to study the world’s history informally in her free time.

Eleanor Musgrove
A young author just starting out, Eleanor Musgrove likes to dabble in as many types of story as she can think of - just as long as she's writing. As well as the books listed on Goodreads, she writes for the fantasy World of Caladria.

Jay Lewis Taylor
Despite having spent most of my life in Surrey and Oxfordshire, I now live in Somerset, within an hour’s drive of the villages where two of my great-great-great-grandparents were born. Although I work as a rare-books librarian in an abstruse area of medical history, I am in fact a thwarted medievalist with a strong arts background.

I have been writing fiction for over thirty years, exploring the lives of people who are on the margins in one way or another, and how the power of love and language can break down the walls that we build round ourselves.

Julie Bozza

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Barry Brennessal

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Charlie Cochrane

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EMAIL:  cochrane.charlie2@googlemail.com

Sam Evans

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Lou Falkner

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Adam Fitzroy

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Wendy C Fries

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Eleanor Musgrove

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Jay Lewis Taylor

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Cure for Diabetes Anthologies

Titles: Sweet Talk, Sweet Dreams, Sweet Seduction

Authors: Box Sets

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Thriller

Release Date: May 1, 2015

***All proceeds will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute

via Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research***

Summary:

Sweet Talk Boxed Set
Priced at only $9.99, this heart-warming, limited edition collection features ten BRAND NEW contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors.
Brenda Novak, Melody Anne, Violet Duke, Melissa Foster, Gina L. Maxwell, Linda Lael Miller, Sherryl Woods, Steena Holmes, Rosalind James, Molly O'Keefe, Nancy Naigle, Robyn Carr.

Sweet Dreams Boxed Set
Priced at only $9.99, this fascinating limited edition collection features thirteen BRAND NEW thrillers by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors.
Allison Brennan, Cynthia Eden, Heather Graham, Liliana Hart, Alex Kava, Carla Neggers, Brenda Novak, Theresa Ragan, Erica Spindler, Jo Robertson, Tiffany Snow, Lee Child, C.J. Lyons, J.T. Ellison.

Sweet Seduction Boxed Set
Priced at only 9.99, this stunning limited edition collection features thirteen BRAND NEW contemporary romances by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling authors.
Brenda Novak, Lexi Blake, Mari Carr, J.S. Cooper, Nicole Edwards, Karen Erickson, Megan Hart, J. Kenner, Julia Kent, Elisabeth Grace, Lauren Hawkeye, Nina Lane, Roni Loren, Avery Aster, Lisa Renee Jones.


***You can make a difference while you read! All proceeds from the sales of these boxed sets will be donated to the Diabetes Research Institute via Brenda Novak’s Online Auction for Diabetes Research***

WANDERLUST by Roni Loren(Sweet Seduction Box Set)

     When the song finished, Lex sauntered to the edge of the stage to address the audience. “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

     Screams answered him. He gave an easy laugh, clearly comfortable being the center of attention.

     “I’m glad y’all are having a good time. We are, too. New Orleans definitely knows how to throw a party.” He put his hand against his brow to shield his eyes from the spotlights and squinted at the sea of people below him. “Turn up those house lights. I want to see these beautiful faces.”

     Female voices reverberated off the walls as the lights above the crowd switched on. A redhead a few steps away from Aubrey lifted up her shirt as soon as Lex’s eyes traveled in that direction. Nice. What was this? Mardi Gras? Lex smiled and gave a little nod of acknowledgement to boob-job girl, but otherwise didn’t comment.

     “You know, I’m feeling mighty thirsty, and I heard a rumor that New Orleans is home of the body shot,” Lex said, continuing to survey the audience with a sly smile. “So I’m thinking, that maybe I should try one tonight. What do you think?”

     The shouting of the crowd increased.

     “Now all I need is…a willing victim,” Lex continued. Bustier girl began her bouncing routine again and waved her hands frantically trying to catch his eye. Lex paced across the stage, taking his time, holding his finger up and preparing to point to the chosen one.

     Aubrey put her money on Miss Augmentation, but he passed that section up without a glance. As he neared Aubrey’s end of the stage, his eyes landed on her exuberant neighbor. The girl’s scream turned shrill. “Pick me! Me! Me!”

     Lex lowered his hand ready to point and then shifted his gaze, locking eyes with Aubrey. Her breath caught. Oh, shit. Seconds seemed to tick by, but she couldn’t pull away from the stare. She managed to wag her head slowly back and forth. No. No. No. 

     He smiled, lowered his finger, and pointed directly at her. “You. The sexy brunette in the black t-shirt.”

     Her stomach took a nosedive. 

     “Come on, I won’t bite,” Lex said, waving her forward. “Unless you ask nicely, that is.”

     The girl next to Aubrey shot her a glare that could have curdled milk. The sea of fans parted as if she’d suddenly morphed into royalty, and she forced her leaden feet to cross the few yards to the barricade. Her heart took up residence in her throat, threatening to jump out. This was a disaster. She silently cursed the bouncer from backstage. If she had met the band beforehand, she would’ve never ended up in this position. Building a professional relationship with the band after this was going to be next to impossible.

     Hands patted her back and shoulders as the two bouncers flanking the stage helped her climb over the metal barrier. Lex squatted at the edge of the stage, all wicked grin and guyliner, and stuck his hand out. He cocked his head, beckoning her closer in a way that spoke without the words. Come on over, lamb, said the wolf. This will only take a minute.

INTRO FOR BRENDA NOVAK
         I’m a thriller writer, and a thriller reader, and hence a sucker for the classic thriller plot, where an ordinary man or an ordinary woman slowly becomes aware of a looming threat: someone or something is out there, close by, infinitely dangerous; or perhaps an intruder is already in the house, mocking, violating a sanctuary, or perhaps – really creepy – he’s been living in the attic for a couple of weeks already, camping out, undetected, silent, leaving odd nighttime disturbances … who moved that chair?
Or perhaps, for added anguish, it’s not the ordinary man or woman under threat: it’s his or her son or daughter, their child, their responsibility, the intended victim, a helpless target.  What mother or father wouldn’t fight to the death?  And they do … 400 pages later, an investigation has been conducted, the bad guy has been identified, close scrapes have been survived, and finally the family is sitting together on the bottom stair, stunned but finally safe, as the bad guy is put in the cop car and driven away.  The end.
Diabetes starts like that.  But it doesn’t finish like that.
It’s a mysterious malfunction.  No one knows the cause.  Researchers suspect an element of genetic susceptibility, and in those susceptible it’s possible the Coxsackie B4 virus kicks things off.  Then a tiny balance among the human body’s billion moving parts goes slightly out of whack, and the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans (such an innocent name) inside the pancreas shut down and stop producing insulin, so the body can no longer deal with the kind of sugars we crave.
The intruder is now in the house.
Untreated, all kinds of complications will follow.  Cardiovascular disease, and stroke, and damage to the eyes, kidneys, and nerves.  And more.  Including death.  All in store, unbelievably, for the ordinary parent’s beautiful and vulnerable child.  No one’s fault.  Type 1 diabetes is unrelated to lifestyle.  Most victims are thin or normal, healthy, well fed, well loved.
The fight back begins with maintenance.  Sometimes diet is enough; more often, insulin must be provided.  An endless round begins: testing and injecting, testing and injecting.  Most sufferers do OK for a long time, but only OK.  Quite apart from the social and organizational burdens of diet and injection, they can feel under the weather a lot of the time.  But in thriller terms, we can at least get them barricaded in a safe house, at least temporarily, doors and windows locked, guns drawn, with the bad guy lurking outside in the yard.
But how do we get the bad guy in the cop car?
Research is the answer, but it’s fantastically expensive.  All around the world, teams of biochemists are working hard, but they have to pay the rent.  And eat.  Their funding comes from governments and institutions and drug companies – but also from hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals.  Many of them are parents of diabetic children, and it’s easy to see why.  The primeval instinct that makes a mother or father fight to the death is a powerful one – perhaps the most powerful among our emotional inheritance.  But in the case of diabetes it’s frustrated.  There’s no identifiable antagonist, no role for a gun or a blade.  There’s no bar fight to be had.  If only it was that easy.  I know of no parent who wouldn’t gladly smash a long-neck bottle and join the fray.  But they can’t.  Such parents have to channel their natural aggression into a long, patient, endless struggle for progress.  They raise awareness and money any way they can.
This anthology is an example.  It will help fund the search for a cure.  All good.  In fact better than good, because whatever else, there are some great authors and some great stories here to enjoy.  So if you buy it, you’ll get some excellent entertainment – but also you might just get the chance to be that mysterious character on page 297 of our notional thriller, who contributes the tiny but vital clue that eventually leads to the big reveal on page 397.  Your few cents could make the difference.  You could be the one.
Lee Child
New York
2015

Sweet Talk

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Sweet Dreams

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Sweet Seduction

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Fractured Hearts by Rissa Blakeley

Title: Fractured Hearts

Author: Rissa Blakeley

Series: Shattered Lives #3

Genre: Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic

Release Date: April 27, 2015

Summary:
***Warning: For mature (18+) audiences only due to strong language, sexual situations and violence.***

The demons taunted. Feeling imprisoned by the voices in his head, Henry feared he would never be free from their reign. With no regard, he raised the bottle to his lips and relished in the blackness welcoming him like an old friend.

After a child went missing and Henry was unable to aid in the search, he knew it was time to clean up his act. With Gunther’s help and determination, Elaina worked to get Henry back on track to a healthier, more sober lifestyle.

The guilt from the actions of Gunther’s past continued to weigh on him, but through Quinn’s encouragement, he allowed himself to start the healing process. Their steamy relationship tested Quinn’s resolve and their future together. She faced a decision which would close the door to one life, opening another that was full of promise.

More survivors ventured into the small town and were allowed to take up residence at the school. Through love, friendship, and with a sense of community, growth began. But discoveries were made that would bring on devastation.

Faced with a battle of a lifetime, some felt survival seemed more like an option than something for which to fight. More secrets were exposed, lives were lost. But, somehow, a little joy and relief followed.

The question that remained was whose heart would shatter and who would be able to move forward?

     My murmur drifted around us as I began feeling sentimental. I slipped off my hoodie and vest, then decided to shed my t-shirt. I was still feeling self-conscious about my body, but I was determined to get it back.
     She stripped off her shirt and bra, making my zipper on my pants strain further. I stood, unbuckling my belt and cargoes. They dropped to the floor with a thud. My devious grin came out when she got up and dropped her pants, as well.
     Bloody hell. Never has someone so beautiful walked this earth.
     She stood before me, her long black hair sweeping over her naked breasts. I stepped back in an effort to soak all of her in. The luscious curve of her waist leading to her hips…
     A perfect vision. No one could compare.
     I grabbed her hand and made her do a turn, getting a look at the ass I simply adored. My hand had a mind of its own, traveling around, enjoying the feel of her supple skin. I admit it. I was drooling.
     I spun her back to face me, wanting a proper dance with my love. Well, as proper as a naked dance could get. I guided her to the center of our room, the cold tile unforgiving under the pads of our feet.
     Humming a few bars of a Jon Legend song, I held her in my arms in the middle of our room. With one hand on her ass and the other clasping hers nestled between our chests, we moved effortlessly together.
     In sync. As one.
     I pulled her closer, singing the lyrics in her ear. Her body broke out into goose bumps. I was so glad I still had that effect on her because I thought I had lost my touch.
     I dropped her hand and held her tight as we swayed in the shadow of our former selves. Her warmth wrapped around my body, holding me together as an uneasiness washed over me.
     There was so much to fear, so much that she couldn’t even understand. Between the demons, the fresh sobriety, my life status, our future… There were so many things lined up, championing to be number one.
     I hated living with a black cloud hovering over me. It made everything difficult…including love. Every minute of what was left of my life, I needed to work to restore her faith that I could be the man she dreamt me to be.
     Grabbing her face with both hands, I made her look up at me, continuing to sing softly as I pressed my forehead to hers. With a slight smile, she gazed into my emeralds, enjoying our profound moment.
     God, she was beautiful. Her perfect face, sensational eyes, rosy cheeks, pouty lip, the way her hair tickled my chilled skin, her naked body swaying and pressing against mine… It all had me reeling. I couldn’t ask for a better woman to hold in my arms.
     Jon Legend had it right on the money. Elaina was my end and my beginning. The end of one tortured, empty life; the beginning of one raptured, satiated life. How could I not be with her standing tall with me? No matter what kind of world we lived in, she was everything to me. My life was only real with her. Without her, I would be coasting to my death, one discordant step at a time.

1. What is the biggest influence/interest that brought you to this genre?
I love the paranormal genre because of the ability to create an entire world. It’s so versatile and the sub-genres vary so much, it allows the author freedom to explore and push their creativity.

2. When writing a book, what is your favorite part of the creative process(outline, plot, character names, editing, etc)?
My favorite part would be the little whispers, thoughts and ideas that pop in my head to make the plot line go somewhere unexpected. I’m usually just as shocked as the reader.

3. When reading a book, what genre do you find most interesting/intriguing?
Generally, I only read paranormal in a variety of sub-genres. Once in a while I will throw in something else. Currently, I’m reading Game of Thrones.

4. If you could co-author with any author, past or present, who would you choose?
I don’t think I could co-author with anyone. I would probably drive them insane.

5. Have you always wanted to write or did it come to you "later in life"?
Definitely came to me later in life. It’s been a great platform for me to express myself.

Author Bio:
Rissa Blakeley is a quirky freelance writer and the author of the Shattered Lives series. She lives a socially awkward life just outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her amazing husband and daughter, four four-legged, furry children, and the many characters poking her brain, looking for more scenes about them in her books. When she isn't writing, she can be found procrastinating on Facebook.

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