2013-12-30

Snare 26 -- Esme

2013-12-30 No comments
Esme's story is revealed in chapter 26...and it is a sad one.  http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8955111/26/




Camilla's short poem (SatinCoveredSteel helped to translate it):

 Or l'dea s'รจ presentata:
se in vampira trasformata
sempre insieme potran stare
e la morte cancellare.

 A new idea now comes to mind:
if she becomes one of his kind,
they'll be able to stay together forever
and death itself they'll surely conquer.


The new chapter is due to be posted in two weeks.
Reviewers get a little gift.

Petrarch's Poems - mentioned in the chapter

Alone and thoughtful, through the most desolate fields,

I go measuring out slow, hesitant paces,
and keep my eyes intent on fleeing
any place where human footsteps mark the sand.

I find no other defence to protect me
from other people’s open notice,
since in my aspect, whose joy is quenched,
they see from outside how I flame within.

So now I believe that mountains and river-banks
and rivers and forests know the quality
of my life, hidden from others.

Yet I find there is no path so wild or harsh
that love will not always come there
speaking with me, and I with him.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

What must I do? What do you counsel, Love?

The time has truly come to die,
and I have lingered longer than I wish.
My lady is dead, and my heart with her:
and if I wish to follow,
I must interrupt this cruel life,
since I have no more hope
of seeing her here, and waiting galls me.
Now all my joy
has turned to weeping at her going,
all sweetness has been taken from my life.

Love, you feel how deep and bitter
is this loss, where I grieve with you:
and know the weight and pain of my ill,
or rather ours, because a reef
has shattered the vessel,
and in a moment our sun is darkened.
What ingenuity with words
could express my grievous state?
Ah, blind, thankless world,
you’ve good reason to weep with me,
since what was beautiful in you is lost with her.
Fallen is your glory, and you do not see it,
nor were you worthy, while she
lived here, to have known her,
nor even to have been touched by her sacred feet,
because so lovely a thing
had to adorn heaven with her presence.
But I, alas, who without her
cannot love mortal life or myself,
weep cruelly for her:
this is all I have of all my hopes,
and this alone is what still keeps me here.

Ah me, that lovely face is turned to dust,
that used to be the pledge to us,
down here, of heaven and its good:
her form, invisible in paradise,
freed from that veil,
that shadowed the flower of her years,
later to be worn once more,
and never more relinquished.
when we shall see her again
dear and lovely, more, by as much
as eternal beauty exceeds mortal.
She returns, more lovely and more graceful
a lady, within me, where
she feels the sight of herself is more exalted.
This is one pillar of my life,
the other her bright name
that sounds so sweetly in my heart.
But recalling in my mind
that my hope is truly dead, living
while she flowered,
Love knows what I become, and she (I hope)
can see it now who is so near to Truth.

Ladies, you who have seen her beauty
and the angelic life
that heavenly one lived on earth,
show me your grief, and be overcome
by pity, not for here who leapt
into such peace, but for me left in this war:
so that if the way
to follow her is barred to me for long
only Love, speaking with me,
stops me from severing the knot.
For he reasons like this inside me:
‘Rein in the great grief that transports you,
lest your over-riding desire
loses you heaven, to which your heart aspires,
where she lives who seems dead to others,
and smiles to herself at her
own lovely leavings, and only sighs for you:
and prays that her fame, that breathes
still in many places, through your words,
is not extinguished,
rather that, if her eyes were ever dear
and sweet to you, your voice illuminate her name.’

Flee the fresh and blithe,
don’t go near laughter or song,
my song, but weep:
don’t take your place among happy people,
widow, disconsolate, in your black dress.

-x-x-x-x-x-


MyReadingLounge is also on Facebook, with daily posts
http://www.facebook.com/MyReadingLounge

Happy 2014!



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2013-12-27

Let's talk about "Wedding Night", by Sophie Kinsella @KinsellaSophie

2013-12-27 No comments
"Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago.

Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse." (Goodreads)


Don't miss it because...

Pro: The scenes with Fliss, Richard, and Lorcan are the funniest part of the book.
Con: It took me a while to feel involved in the story. When I was familiarizing with Lottie, it was already time to switch to Fliss's story, and viceversa.


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2013-12-23

Special post: My Reading Lounge's birthday!

2013-12-23 4 comments
Dear friends,

the first post of this blog was created on this day, three years ago.


Your support and encouragement is the best gift I could ever wish for this blog. If you have a story or a book you'd like to review, or a suggestion for the writing lab, or if you need a banner, your ideas are always welcome.

Thank you to every friend who visited, left a comment, gave a suggestion. 

You can find MyReadingLounge on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr.

I wish you a wonderful Xmas and a great 2014!

- Raum



ps: Snare's new chapter is due to be posted on December 30.


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2013-12-20

Let's talk about "Mountain Charm" by Sydney Logan @SydneyALogan

2013-12-20 No comments
At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would blossom into a beautiful and gifted woman who would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the sacred ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s failing health have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm.


That is, until Dylan Thomas arrives on her front porch.

Dylan, a Nashville writer, travels to the mountain town of Maple Ridge to unearth the family’s supernatural secrets. While her clairvoyant mother is convinced that Dylan is her daughter’s soul mate, Angelina refuses to see the nosy reporter as anything more than a nuisance.

Despite their constant bickering, sparks fly.

Dylan admits he feels strangely drawn to Angelina and is in no hurry to leave Maple Ridge or publish his magazine article. Fearful that his emotions are being influenced by the spell, a stubborn Angelina struggles to fight her own budding attraction to the reporter.

The two inevitably grow closer just as her mother’s health begins to deteriorate, and Angelina is faced with the possibility of selling the family’s music shop to pay the mounting medical expenses. Desperate to help the woman he loves, Dylan explores his own family tree and finds support from an unlikely source. Can he finally prove his love is real—spell or no spell?


A story filled with love, friendship, family, and just a hint of Appalachian magic, Mountain Charm will leave you spellbound.

Watch the trailer and listen to the playlist!
Get your copy!

Giveaway!

Prize: Swag Pack - 1 Ebook Copy of Mountain Charm, 1 Signed Bookmark, & 1 Charm Bracelet (Open to US residents only)


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read an Excerpt

“It’s your birthday?” Dylan asked.

“Yes, and it was blissfully uneventful until you showed up.”

“Beautiful and infuriating,” Dylan muttered. “Look, Angelina, I was just given this assignment yesterday. I don’t have a clue about Appalachian magic tricks or devil-worshipping or whatever it is you do up in these mountains, but I have a story to write. Just let me interview you and your mom, and I’ll be back on the interstate before you can say abracadabra.”

Instead of pointing out just how ignorant he sounded, Angelina decided what he truly needed was a strong dose of fear.

“Actually, I do have something you need to see. A family heirloom. Wait here?”

Excited for any useful information, Dylan’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. Once again, those good manners kicked in, and Dylan opened the door for her. 

Angelina raced inside the house. She hadn’t touched it in years, but she still remembered where her father kept the key to the case. She grabbed what she needed and quickly made her way back out to the porch, letting the screen door slam behind her.

Dylan jumped out of his chair. “What the hell?”

Angelina lifted the rifle and pointed it straight at him. He didn’t need to know the safety was on—or that the chamber was empty.

“This is a Remington, passed down from my father and his father, also known as an Appalachian magic wand. Just watch. It’s going to make you disappear.”

Angelina thought it was almost comical, hearing him curse and watching him leap off the porch. All the commotion caused her dog to chase after him, which only made Dylan sprint faster until he reached the sanctuary of his vehicle.

“Are you insane?” Dylan yelled.

“I tend to get a little crazy when someone trespasses on my property. Leave my family alone and don’t come back!”

He slammed the door and had to do some fancy maneuvering to get around her car, but within seconds, the only sounds Angelina could hear were Dylan’s squealing tires, her dog’s noisy bark, and her mother’s hearty laughter.


Sydney Logan holds a Master's degree in Elementary Education and lives in East Tennessee. With the 2012 release of her novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Her second book, Mountain Charm, was released in 2013. She is also the author of three short stories. When she isn't writing, Sydney enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her porch with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.  

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2013-12-18

Let's talk about "Otherwise Unharmed" by Shay Savage @savage7289

2013-12-18 No comments
Otherwise Unharmed (Evan Arden Trilogy #3), the new book of the renowned romance/crime series by Shay Savage, is now available!


Synopsis:

After Evan Arden was imprisoned by the enemy for a year and a half, he returned from the desert as a military hero.  He’d suffered some minor injuries during his captivity, was discharged from the Marines with a touch of shellshock, but was considered otherwise unharmed.  Now he wonders how he ended up where he is—incarcerated in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for using his sharpshooting expertise to take out the neighborhood park with a high-powered sniper rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition.

Lia Antonio, the woman he rescued from the desert heat the previous year, is the only person who can bring him out of his sleep-deprived psychosis and mounting PTSD.  When she does, Evan knows he can’t just let her go again.  He’s never considered leaving the business before—who retires from the mafia?—but he’s determined to get both Lia and himself out of harm’s way.

Evan faces overwhelming forces from multiple directions as a deal to get him out of jail turns more dangerous than he imagined.  With a mob war on the horizon and the feds holding evidence over his head, Evan has no choice but to throw himself into the middle of another warzone.

In his efforts to make things right, Evan crosses the wrong man and finds himself on the business end of the crosshairs.  With his acute perception and intelligence, he tries to stay a step ahead of his former co-workers, but this time, it isn’t just his own life on the line—he’s got to protect Lia from the man who once called him son.



{Book Extras!}
 
Watch the Trailer! Otherwise Occupied: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlnWgsxgUZM&feature=youtu.be


Raum's review

I've been following Shay Savage's stories for a long time, and I can assure you she never disappoints. If you want stories where you can be surprised (and even shocked...) at every turn, Savage is the right author for you. 
In Otherwise Occupied, I appreciate the way the author can get into her main character's mind. Savage's characters are always full of different shades; they're deeply human, with their good sides and their flaws. Through the whole trilogy, you'll get to know them so well that your only complaint will be that you'll have to let them go, when the words "The End" arrive. 

Let's read an excerpt to get a taste of the story:
I resisted the urge to pull out the Beretta and shove it in his face.
“I assume I have you to thank for all of this,” I muttered back. “What the fuck do you want?”
“Just wanted to make sure you weren’t packing up to leave town or anything stupid like that,” Trent replied. “I also wanted to make sure you realize I know exactly where you are and what you’re doing—at all times.”
I watched him closely. He crossed his arms as he leaned casually against the door—too casually. He was making a point of looking nonchalant, which meant he didn’t completely feel that way. My eyes searched for other clues about him, but he was practiced in the art of being a complete and total asshole, which was throwing me off my game.
In an attempt to gain some ground, I snapped my fingers and pointed to Odin’s bed. He quickly moved from my side and went to his place but continued to growl low at the federal agent.
“I told you I would take care of it all,” I reminded him. “Fuck off and let me do it.”
“You’re quite the conversationalist,” he said with a snide laugh.
“I don’t converse with feds,” I snapped back. I was immediately pissed off at myself for letting him get to me.
“Just don’t forget to take your dick out of your slut long enough to get your job done.”
I clenched my teeth and glared, trying to keep myself from just walking over and beating the living shit out of him. I had no doubt that Johnson was nearby, and assaulting a fed in my apartment while I was out on bail wasn’t the very best idea.
“Are you going to spend a lot of time keeping me from getting shit done?” I asked through my teeth.
“I’m going to spend a lot of time making sure you are getting shit done,” Trent retorted. “If I feel like you’re stalling, I’m going to take it out on her. What do you think of that?”
“I think that’s an invitation to an underground party.”
We locked stares for a long moment. Trent eventually cracked half of an insincere smile and then nodded.
“I’ll be seeing you around.” He turned and walked out the door.
I dropped my ass on the couch and rubbed my temples. Odin assumed he was free to leave his bed because he came up and leaned his fuzzy mug on my knee. I rubbed at his head and tried to calm myself down a bit.
None of this was going to work.

{GIVEAWAY}

Prize: 3 Ebook Sets of the Evan Arden series (4books)
1 paperback of Otherwise Unharmed
2 Ebook copies of Surviving Raine

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Shay Savage lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, two children, and a variety of household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker, and holds the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. When not writing, she enjoys science fiction movies, and loves soccer in any and all forms. During the fall, she coaches her daughter’s soccer team. Though she currently works in the technology field, her school background is in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into the characters within her stories.


Website: http://www.shaysavage.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaySavage7289
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5160667.Shay_Savage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Savage7289

Presented by MaE Book Tours

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2013-12-16

Let's talk about "Fire On The Water" by @Author_PJParker

2013-12-16 4 comments


Fire On The Water
 A Companion To Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 


Fire On The Water: A Companion To Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 
By P.J. Parker
Category: Drama
Publication Date: 12th December 2013 
ISBN paperback: 978-1-61213-196-2
ISBN ebook: 978-1-61213-197-9

Book Summary 

Rachel, a young American biographer researching the life of Mary Shelley in Montreux, Switzerland, is entangled and consumed by the escalating threads of her investigation. Shards of Shelley’s creation are exhumed from the past. Precious memories are hacked and sutured to the unthinkable. The unblemished flesh of the one she loves is stripped back to reveal what lies beneath—aspects of Frankenstein incised and ripped from the nineteenth century and transplanted into her own.
Through a landscape of archival documents, the contents of a trunk unopened for generations, and a spiraling progression of dismembered cadavers and uncertainties, Fire on the Water: A Companion to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein interweaves Rachel’s search with the plot of Frankenstein and the horrific occurrences of the summer of 1816 when Mary Shelley dared to dip her quill into the ink of her darkest of waking dreams.
The truth is given life.

Review by Camilla

Sometimes one's so lucky to be asked to review an out-of-the-ordinary book.
Such is the case with Fire on the Water by P.J. Parker.
The author’s love and knowledge of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein bursts from the pages and captures the reader. The novel is presented as a companion book to the classic, but there's also a very modern side to the story.
We meet Rachel, a young New Yorker who has flown to Switzerland to give substance to a dream, writing the ultimate biography of Mary Shelley. She even landed a contract and an advance, and she happily sets herself to the task.
Many of the answers she seeks could still be found in Montreux. What prompted Mary’s ideas about the Creature?

“Did Mary – Rachel asks herself - make her own discoveries in the primordial apothecaries, decaying bookshops, and intimate cafes and salons?
Something must have occurred here to jolt the monster into existence. Something must have occurred while she was here on her own.”
So Rachel walks the same streets Mary Shelley must have trod two centuries before, and even contacts residents whose family pasts could have clues to Shelley’s life and work. With a stroke of luck, a family, living in a wonderful Tyrolean Chalet hidden up in the forested mountainside of Hauts-de-Montreux, entrusts the researcher with a chest full of letters and diaries that hadn’t been opened for generations.
Since Rachel is methodic in her research, the chest isn’t immediately opened – other papers must be dealt with first. And in the meantime the unexpected happens: she meets a very special guy. Jack is from Chicago; he's blond, handsome, sexily tattooed and teaches English Lit in a nearby American School. And he drives a Harley. The love story progresses, they are very happy … until, one morning, two policemen knock on her door.

“A terrible, terrible accident, they said.
His motorbike a mangled mess, they said.
Dead, they said.”
“Rachel is devastated, to the point of thinking to leave her research and go home, but she doesn’t. While still trying to cope with the tragedy, one day she walks around and is caught up in a storm. Under a precarious shelter, while the tempest rages, she sees a man.”
“He stood in the downpour at the end of the breakwater. He was strongly built, his silhouette over seven and a half feet tall, maybe eight, his massive arms hanging lifelessly at his sides. He was wearing dark clothing. Thick, long, dark hair, sodden and miserable, whipped about his shoulders in the storm. Was he barefooted?”

From now onwards Rachel’s story and Mary Shelley’s run in parallel, chapter after chapter. The mysterious man, who's scary and strangely appealing, slowly enters Rachel’s life, exactly like something she had seen haunted Mary’s life and imagination.
What if in peaceful Switzerland somebody was conducting ungodly experiments not only two hundred years ago, but also today? Experiments for which body part of freshly dead specimen were needed?
To say more would spoil the mystery, one that you will enjoy unraveling, together with Rachel.

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Introducing P.J. Parker
P.J. Parker was born and raised in rural Australia. With a bachelor of science in architecture from the University of New South Wales, he has traveled and lived extensively around the world, focusing on cultures of historic interest and buildings of architectural significance before transitioning into a career as a fraud analyst and programmer with a leading international financial institution. An avid reader and researcher, P.J. undertakes his writing with a passionate and exacting attention to detail.


Praise for Fire On The Water

The impossible has been done... a really great novel inspired by a really great novel. 
-ARC Review, Goodreads
There were some particularly great moments in this story. Times when your own heart is beating as fast as that of the character you are experiencing things with. I loved that the author balanced moments of excitement with a deep back story of Shelley's research and composition of her famed novel. 
-ARC Review, Goodreads

Connect with P.J. Parker TWCS Book Page, TWCS Author Page, Author Facebook Page, Fire On The Water Facebook page, Twitter 


Publication Date: 12th December 2013
Sales Information
Fire On The Water is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon, B&N.com, The Writers Coffee Shop Publishing House online: http://ph.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/books/detail/109, and available in ebook format on iTunes and Kobo. 






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2013-12-13

Let's talk about "The Undomestic Goddess", by Sophie Kinsella - @KinsellaSophie

2013-12-13 No comments
"Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership.

Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.

But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?" (Goodreads)



Don't miss it because...

This is the book that introduced me to Sophie Kinsella's novels.

Hilarious, well-written, refreshing. I devoured it in less than 24 hours! It would make a great movie!

 
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2013-12-11

Writing Lab: 25 Editing Tips

2013-12-11 2 comments
Do you apply the following Editing Tips? Do you find them useful?

Happy Writing!

- Raum


Thanks to http://thewritelife.com/, where you can find more writing tips.
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2013-12-08

Cover Reveal: "Under These Restless Skies" by @lissabryan

2013-12-08 No comments
Under These Restless Skies, a new historical/paranormal novel by Lissa Bryan, will be released on February 20th, 2014.


You can already find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18213408-under-these-restless-skies


and you can enjoy the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ucE7o7bQqE


Here's the cover!




Synopsis:

Will Somers has always thought himself unlovable. When he encounters a creature of myth and magic, he seizes the chance to finally have a wife and family of his own. Emma is a selkie—one of the immortal fae-folk of the sea—bound to Will by the magic of her kind, and eager to learn about life on land. She has to learn to adapt quickly to human customs, because Will is headed for the court of Henry VIII, to serve as the king’s fool. It’s a glittering, dangerous world, where a careless word can lead to the scaffold and the smallest of gestures is loaded with political implications. Anne Boleyn is charmed by Emma’s naรฏvetรฉ and soothing selkie magic and wants Emma for her own fool. Can Will protect his newfound love from the dangers that lurk in every shadow? Circa regna tonat: around the throne, the thunder rolls.

Giveaway!

Will you win an Ebook copy of Under These Restless Skies?


Meet Lissa

Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete's foot ... though only in her head. Real life isn't so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.

Her first novel, Ghostwriter, was released October 11, 2012, and her second, The End of All Things, was released on January 24, 2013. Her third, Under These Restless Skies, is scheduled for 2014.


Website: http://www.lissabryan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lissa.bryan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5442345.Lissa_Bryan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LissaBryan

Thanks to:
MaE Book Tours
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2013-12-06

Let's introduce you to @LorenzFont's writing

2013-12-06 No comments


Have you read any of the books from Lorenz Font? 
Let us introduce you to this amazing new author!



Hunted (Gates Legacy #1)

Deep in the heart of New York City’s underworld, a horrible disease is ravaging the vampire community. The Vampire Council is on a crusade to obliterate those infected, and Harrow Gates is target Number One. The unwitting source of the plague, he suffers from the same nightmarish symptoms as his victims. The world he'd been thrust into was cold, cruel, and intent on eradicating him, and the legions of afflicted vampires he created with his bite. 

A bounty hanging over his head, satisfying his hunger has become an enormous challenge for Harrow. The less he feeds, the more hideous and painful his lesions become. Constantly running for his life and learning new tricks to survive, Harrow is in no position to refuse when Pritchard Tack offers him a unique opportunity. Pritchard not only gives Harrow a new beginning, but also a purpose and a chance to rectify the chaos he created in the vampire world. However, the multi-billionaire has an agenda of his own.
Jordan is a reluctant new vampire and a woman on a mission. After the demise of her family and her own transformation at the hands of Goran, the ruthless leader of the Vampire Council, her only focus is revenge. Constantly faced with one frustrating dead-end after another, a stroke of luck leads her to an underground facility that she suspects is the lair of the monster for whom she is looking. 

Upon learning more about the truth behind the secret bunker, Jordan must fight against her growing feelings of friendship and concern for the facility’s inhabitants. One man in particular threatens to pull her heart away from her sworn mission. There is something behind Harrow’s dark lenses that unsettles the hardened female. Once again, she trembles and hungers for something other than red-stained revenge. Is love strong enough to override her hate-fueled thirst for vengeance?




Tormented (Gates Legacy #2)

 Tor Burns is a non-infected vampire who has taken refuge in the Tack Enterprises underground facility. Having survived a vicious attack with his fellow vampire Harrow, he now has a new purpose. Vampires afflicted with Gates Syndrome are still being hunted, and Tor is committed to saving them from the clutches of the Vampire Council. With a semi-cure within their grasp, Tor is reluctant to accept his new assignment: bodyguard to Allison Tack, the daughter of their fallen leader. Armed with an abrasive personality and fierce loyalty, Tor approaches this new responsibility with serious determination despite his reservations.

Vampire Allison Tack is the beautiful and timid co-heir of the Tack fortune. Infected and hunted by the Council, those lucky enough to have known her father are determined to keep her safe. A walking target wherever she goes, Allison wants to learn how to protect herself, but no one is listening. Sick of being the helpless one in the company of trained fighters around her, Allison vows to prove that she can fight alongside the best of them.

Meanwhile, the harem leader, Melissa, is hell-bent on unraveling any clue about her son Demetrius’s fate. He disappeared without a word, and time has made her desperate. Stepping up her efforts, she seeks the help of Demetrius’s son, Zane. With the additional manpower, Melissa finds the lair of the suspected vampires and wages war against them.

Thrown together by necessity, Tor and Allison can’t continue to deny their attraction to each other. Tor wants to give in to his feelings for her, but old demons resurface. He must confront the past to prevent losing the best thing that ever happened to him.

A life must be given for a life taken. Will Tor have to sacrifice himself before Allison pays the price?




Indivisible Line

 Pre-med student Sarah Jones is back in Beaver, Alaska, for summer vacation. A loyal member of the Gwich’in tribe, she accepts the rules set by her father, the leader of their small town. Raised in a strict household, she learned early on to do what is expected of her and has agreed to an arranged marriage. Despite her reluctance to marry without love, Sarah is unwilling to defy her father’s wishes. She hopes to help usher in an era of independence and stability for the town, but for now, her focus is finishing med school so she can become Beaver’s resident doctor.

Business owner Greg Andrews wants to escape his philandering wife and his life in general. Leaving New York City to join a hunting expedition in Alaska, Greg’s plans are turned upside down when he is shot on Gwich’in land and ends up on Sarah’s operating table. In the absence of a qualified doctor, Sarah must operate to save his life. She refuses to wait for the consent of their tribal leader, and her father banishes her from the tribal land in punishment.

Grateful for his life, Greg concocts a scheme to help. Plagued by the side effects of her unconventional operation, he convinces Sarah to become his live-in nurse. Without the means to support herself, Sarah agrees to the questionable arrangement, but she soon finds herself in even more trouble. Her new problem is that she is falling in love with this infuriating man, and the choices she now must make are must more difficult than the simple act of saving a man’s life.

Together, Sarah and Greg must both decide whether they can overcome the vast differences between them, or if the indivisible line that separates their worlds will ultimately pull them apart.






Feather Light

Parker Davis has conquered three major American cities and is the new ‘it’ man in massage. He earned the nickname “Feather Light” for his sensual touches, tender caresses, and soft voice eliciting an almost orgasmic release. Clients from all over clamor for his services, and his clientele is growing by the minute. Business is at its peak, which makes Parker a busy man who has no time to deal with problems, let alone dwell on his blindness. With his declining vision, Parker has to accept his limitations and the changes brought forth by this disease, but he is not ready to relinquish the last control he has left. He is still the master in his bedroom.

Kelly Storm, a Hollywood actress, will do whatever it takes to get some much-deserved peace. Being famous has its perks, except the little privacy her popularity afforded her is slowly eating at her. With the paparazzi hounding her every minute of the day and her personal life under constant scrutiny, Kelly wants a semblance of normalcy wherever she can get it. Under the urging of a close friend, she agrees give Parker a try.

Their first meeting is nothing she expects. Kelly finds comfort in his gentle probing and the spellbinding experience guaranteed to keep her coming back for more. Parker knows the woman on his table is special. He feels her vulnerability with his fingertips, and her smooth curves leave a burning ache inside him.

One night of steamy passion is all it takes to know that they wanted each other in more ways than one. Kelly hides in heavy disguises, making it impossible for Parker to know her true identity. What secret is Kelly keeping, and will she trust Parker enough to tell him the truth? Will Parker see beyond Kelly’s lies to show her what a future with him holds?

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Lorenz Font discovered her love of writing after reading a celebrated novel that inspired one idea after another. She is currently enjoying the buzz from her debut novel Hunted, the first book of The Gates Legacy Trilogy and Indivisible Line, a romantic thriller. Her newest novel, Tormented, the second installment of The Gates Legacy, is now available for vampire lovers everywhere.  


Writing is a therapy for Lorenz, and a perfect day consists of writing and playing with her characters while listening to her ever-growing music collection. She enjoys dabbling in different genres with an intense focus on angst and the redemption of flawed characters. Her fascination with romantic twists is a mainstay in all her stories.

Lorenz currently lives in California with her husband, children, and two demanding dogs. She divides her time between a full-time job as a Business Office Manager for a hospital and her busy writing schedule.

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2013-12-03

Let's talk about "Gabriel's Redemption" by @sylvainreynard (with giveaway!)

2013-12-03 No comments
From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Gabriel’s Rapture and Gabriel’s Inferno comes the epic conclusion to the captivating romantic trilogy.


Gabriel's Redemption is now available!



Summary

Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, he’s confident that they can face any challenge. And he’s eager to become a father.

But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront Julianne about the subject of her presentation—research that conflicts with his own. And in Oxford, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julia and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets.

In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, beginning a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.

Raum's Review

I heartily recommend it because...
- it's well written. Let's enjoy an excerpt:
"I'm the reason you're constantly falling back to earth." Gabriel's blue eyes were earnest and searching. "I drag you from the stars — from where you belong."

She gave him a sad smile. "It's the human condition. We're bound to fall."

He stopped dancing, his eyes boring into hers. "You should never have to fall, Julianne."
 
For sure SR has a great way with words, right?

- it's well researched. I live in Italy, I've visited Florence many times, but visiting it through the eyes of Julia and Gabriel, and through SR's descriptions, makes me fall in love with the city again and again. Close your eyes after reading the following passage. What do you feel?
It was their last night in Florence. They'd spent the evening dining at a romantic restaurant overlooking the Arno River. Then they'd wandered the narrow streets before arriving at the Loggia dei Lanzi. From this vantage point, they could watch the Piazza della Signoria come to life after dark.
Tourists and locals milled about the Piazza or enjoyed a drink at one of the cafรฉs. Nearby, a string quartet played Verdi, filling the square with a beautiful melancholy.
Julia watched in fascination as street vendors launched glowing cylinders into the air, the toys sparkling like firecrackers against the ink black sky. But always, the objects would fall to the ground, their brief foray into the heavens ended by gravity.
 - SR can be inspiring, romantic, and ironic at the same time:
"Move your hand any higher and we're going to get arrested," she whispered.
His eyes appeared to darken. "It will be worth it."
She placed her hand over his, stopping the slow, teasing ascent.
"I think we've been the subject of enough scandals, Professor."
  
About the Author

Sylvain Reynard is interested in the way literature can help us explore aspects of the human condition - particularly suffering, sex, love, faith, and redemption. SR's favourite stories are those in which a character takes a journey, either a physical journey to a new and exciting place, or a personal journey in which he or she learns something about himself/herself.

The author is also interested in how aesthetic elements such as art, architecture, and music can be used to tell a story or to illuminate the traits of a particular character. SR combines all of these elements with the themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the transformative power of goodness.

"I try to use my platform as an author to raise awareness about the following charities: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation, WorldVision, Alex's Lemonade Stand, and Covenant House." (Sylvain Reynard).

For more information, see SR's Twitter account.

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The Louboutin winner will be gifted a Neiman Marcus gift card with shipping included. All prizes are international.


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2013-12-02

Snare 24 -- Plans

2013-12-02 No comments
New vampires are featured in chapter 24. What are they going to do to our beloved characters? http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8955111/24/





Camilla's short poem (SatinCoveredSteel helped to translate it):

L'assistente sciagurato
dai Volturi รจ catturato;
spiega tutta la faccenda
e diventa la merenda.


Charlie’s assistant, the prick,
the Volturi capture, all too quick;
all he knows he will reveal,
then he’ll become a tasty meal.


The new chapter is due to be posted in two weeks.
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