Chemistry of Evil special offer for January!

Excerpt

 Start your new year with a bargain! To celebrate the release of Chemistry of Evil, for the month of January you can get this book for 99 cents only!

Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/f7pSwz

Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00HNFXLZG

Sophie Adams is engaged, but the second she sees sexy Evan Howell, she wants him. When her fiancé dumps her, Evan is there to catch her. And show her a passion she’d never dreamed of before, drawn from his dark experiments into sexual magick, a magick that has driven more than one man insane. Enthralled by the new world Evan introduces her to, Sophie wants more.

Evil follows them across the Atlantic. From Arthurian Cornwall to New York, Mordred, cursed son of King Arthur, stretches his evil influence to encompass Sophie, Evan and everyone they love. Evan has already lost his sister to Mordred and his supporters—he refuses to lose Sophie, too.

Evan, ex-convict hacker turned CIA computer genius for Department 57, explores the dark side of life. It will take all his skill to save Sophie from the danger threatening to take her over, body and soul. All his skill—in the bedroom as well as out of it.

Together, the three will embark upon a dance of danger, at the end of which there will be only two. . .or one. . .or none

Extract

Sophie hadn’t realized the true meaning of the phrase “burning eyes.” She did now. Hardly had she got to her feet when she found herself swept up into his arms. Holding her close Evan moved rapidly across the large living space in the direction of the staircase. She kept her gaze on his face, and saw the hunger there, reflecting the hunger she knew lay deep in her own eyes.
He laid her on the bed, and Sophie had a fleeting thought that it was as well no one had moved it, for he didn’t take his attention from her for a moment. Only then did he follow her down and take her in a deep kiss that robbed her of all reason. He propped himself on his elbows and stared down at her. “You want this? Really? Because, Sophie, if you stay in this bed tonight, you’re never going back to the other one unless it’s with me.”
“Oh yes,” she said.
“This morning you were stressed, and I was desperate. I knew I’d have to give you the choice next time. I couldn’t take it for granted. I’ve wanted you since I first saw you, baby. A fairy covered in dirt, fresh from uncovering secrets hidden for centuries. I wanted to take you into the shower and wash every beautiful inch of you and then take you to bed to keep you warm. Now I know you better, I want a lot more than that.”
She saw the question in his eyes and knew it was reflected in her own. “I want this, Evan.”
He kissed her and caressed her body, long sweeps of his hands from her hips to her underarms and back again, cupping his hands to fill them with the curves of her bottom. She reciprocated, touching his back, feeling his muscles move and flex under her hands. She tugged at his shirt, pulling it free of his pants, and heard his chuckle. “In a hurry, are we?” he teased, lifting himself on one elbow.
She replied with a smile. “You might say that.”
“Well, we’re here until Cristos tells us otherwise. We might as well make the most of it.” He glanced at her, and she smiled to show him she knew he wasn’t serious. He ran his hand along the buttons of her shirt, undoing them as he went.
She busied herself with his shirt. “Do you always do what Cristos tells you?”
“No.” His voice lowered to a dark purr. “But I don’t buck his authority just for the hell of it. The decision made sense.”
He had undone her shirt. She sat up so he could take it off her. She leaned forward and slipped his shirt down his arms so she could touch his chest. It was strong, with well-defined muscle, hot to her touch and lightly furred. “You feel good.” His indrawn gasp told her he enjoyed her caresses.
“So do you.” He opened her shirt and put his hands on her. She responded with shivering recognition. He felt right, his touch a welcome thing.
Sophie flinched with the extra sensitivity, as though her experiences that night had opened something new inside her. She needed this intimacy, with this man, as she had needed no one quite that way before. 

January news and a cover reveal!

News

Happy new year! Let’s make this year the best yet!

It was a weird year for me. The year of new beginnings, in a writing sense. The first in a new historical series comes out in the spring from Samhain, and next month, there’s a new book from Loose-Id, a spin-off from the Department 57 books.

And I have a cover reveal for you! I love this. It’s the first in a new series about a group of Talents working to save civilian Talents from the organisation PLR, which is intent on destroying them. They concentrate on the Talented version of the Witsec program, giving them new identities.

So what do you think? It’s Texan vampires!

Lucille attends a masquerade and meets a real-life Regency rake. A young vampire, she’s never met an old one like Jay before. Together, they burn up the night, but in the morning, danger threatens. They find Lucille's brother, badly hurt. The evidence is mounting: someone is trying to kill Lucille, and maybe Jay.

The threat sends Jay's possessive instincts into overdrive. At first he just wants to protect Lucille from her persecutors, the anti-vampire organization, the PLR. Yet, soon, it's not enough for him. With the help of an old friend, Jay plans to destroy the PLR, even though he knows even if he doestheir affair can’t last. He’s too old and jaded and she’s too young and fresh. Plus, with the danger threatening her life, she’ll have to use the Thorndyke network to escape, change her identity, and never come back.
http://goo.gl/DkZD9V 

With Dept 57, I still have Laurie’s story to tell, and quite a few others! I want to tell the magician’s story, and the badass vampire who seems to know so much about Cristos.

However, there are continuations, too. The Nightstar series has three more books to go, and there are four new STORM books waiting in the wings. However, only one of them is written! The others are planned, contracted and I’ll be writing at least one in the first part of this year.

This month, the release is the Chemistry of Evil. It’s out now, and I kept this newsletter back so I could be sure it was up at all the outlets, or at least most of them. It’s been out before, twice. The first version, published by Triskelion, is very different to the second version, published by Loose-Id. I had a ball rewriting it the way I wanted it. This version is the LI version, but cheaper. For January, it’s 99 cents, and is going up to £3.99 in February. So if you have the Triskelion version, it’s worth a look, but if you have the LI version, you probably don’t want to buy this one again. New cover, though!

I can’t tell you how good this book has been to me. It was my first paranormal romance, my first contemporary, introducing me to a genre that I still love to write.

The Amazon link is http://amzn.com/B00HNFXLZG

Barnes and Noble (for the epub link) http://goo.gl/f7pSwz

I just got word that “Brutally Beautiful,” which was one of my most popular books from last year, is going into print! Exciting!

There’s a brand new release in February, so stay tuned for that!

Liquid Crystal at a special price!

My holiday gift to you! Liquid Crystal at the lowest price Amazon allows me to go.
From now until the end of December, you can get Liquid Crystal at the special price of 99 cents! After that it will go up to $3.99, it's regular price.
http://amzn.com/B00H1ZC4BU is the Amazon link.
ibookstore is here: http://goo.gl/72BCXd

A Department 57 story. 
When Crystal share the same bed with Bryn and Kai, the passion they wake in each other is as incredible as it is inevitable. 
An unseen, unsuspected enemy rises up to threaten Crystal’s life, until mermen Bryn and Kai, rescue her from a nearly fatal plunge into the Thames. When Bryn and Kai show Crys the secrets of underwater loving, the passion they release steams up the water. 
But their enemy still chases them, and now Crys, Bryn and Kai are in mortal danger. Even in a city as busy and modern as London, England, old enemies lurk and old secrets hide.

If you would like to read an extract, either go to the Amazon Look Inside feature, or go here: http://lynneconnolly.com/LiquidCrystal.html

Go on - treat yourself!

News for December, 2013

Liquid Crystal is finally out! It’s the story of two mermen and their lucky lady. If you want to know how merpeople make love underwater, look no further!

Anyway, it’s here:

Kindle

Barnes and Noble

And you can read an excerpt here:

http://lynneconnolly.com/LiquidCrystal.html

One of the delays was in the cover art. In the original, something went wrong. The hero’s head was supposed to fade into the scene, but in the event, his nipple reappeared right on the parapet of the bridge! Since it was a similar colour to the bridge, nobody noticed it until last week. So I saved it from appearing in dozens of Cover Fail blogs!

And the other outlets are slowly rolling out. It’s on special offer for December, at 99 cents, so you could save yourself a bundle if you pick it up now!

So, other news. I’ve signed a new contract, for four brand new historicals, but not under the Lynne Connolly name! So it’s hush-hush and very exciting, but since it’s all new, I can’t really say too much more, and I probably shouldn’t be telling you that much. I’ve spent all the last few months working for this new project.

Plus, something I can tell you about, and a cover reveal!

A new story, called Lightning Unbound, will be appearing at Samhain in spring next year. I’m more than thrilled about this one, it’s a project that is dear to my heart. I worked it through a few years ago, but when the rock star series and the Cougar Challenge series proved so popular over at Ellora’s Cave, I concentrated on those. The first book came very close to publication, but the publisher went bust, and I tucked the book away on my hard drive.

But I never forgot this one. It’s set in the mid-eighteenth century, and it has strong paranormal elements. Two of my interests are mythology and the way it feeds into the zeitgeist, and of course history. I blended the two where it seemed most appropriate. I can promise that the books will be as rigorously historically accurate as any of my historical romances. But the addition is the paranormal element. I promise there are no shape-shifters or vampires. I’ve taken a very different approach with this one. I’ll let you know more details nearer the time.

But here’s the cover. You like?

When designing this cover, the one thing we couldn’t find was a decent picture of people in accurate period dress which hasn’t been used over and over. The alternative was a lovely image of a lady, but I’ve seen that particular image used a lot recently, which is some indication of the lack of suitable images.

More news?

Next February has been marked for the release of “Dispossessed” at Loose-Id. I’ll tell you more about that next month, but it’s a spin-off series from Department 57. You don’t have to read the Department first, this is completely new!

Watch for another Dept 57 re-release in January. I’m so delighted that this series is refreshed, and will reach a whole new audience. There might even be new books!

So whatever you celebrate in December, have a really happy one. I’ll be on Twitter and Facebook, obsessing about my favourite programs, the writing life and music, and I’m preparing for my Trek Across The Pond next May for RT and other goodies!

Where to find Lynne Connolly and her Books 

My website
The hub of everything I do. It's updated regularly, with excerpts, short stories and other goodies:
http://www.lynneconnolly.com

My newsletter and yahoo group.
Members get a monthly newsletter, where the news ALWAYS breaks first, and new excerpts are aired. There is also a free book, available in the Files.
To join, go here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LynneConnolly/
or send an email here:
LynneConnolly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

UK Historical romance blog:
http://historicalromanceuk.blogspot.com/

My personal blog:
http://lynneconnolly.blogspot.com/

I currently write for Samhain Publishing, Ellora's Cave , Loose-Id , Total E-Bound and Carina Press. So you can find me on their loops and on their websites.

I write columns for Sybil at The Good, The Bad and The Unread:
http://tinyurl.com/6j42ut

And my email is lynneconnollyuk@yahoo.co.uk

Lynne Connolly, author of sophisticated and sensual romance

http://lynneconnolly.com/

Liquid Crystal Release!

This month marks the re-release of Liquid Crystal, the first of the Crystal miniseries set in the Dept 57 world. This is the only time menages formed the center of the book, and Liquid Crystal introduces the merpeople.

Here’s your first look at the new cover for the book, too! Like it?

Excerpt:

Learn the Secrets of Underwater Loving - Times Two!

An unseen, unsuspected enemy rises up to threaten Crystal's life, until her old friends, Bryn and Kai, rescue her from an unexpected and unwelcome plunge into the Thames. When they all sleep in the same bed, the passion they wake in each other is as amazing as it is inevitable. When Bryn and Kai reveal their secret - they are mermen - and show Crys the secrets of underwater loving, the passion they release is incredible.
But their enemy still chases them, and now Crys, Bryn and Kai are in danger of their lives. Even in a city as busy and modern as London, England, old enemies lurk and old secrets hide.

Excerpt:

      Bryn? She almost put a crick in her neck, she turned on her side so quickly.  There he lay. Bryn Murchison, fast asleep, close but not touching her, his face turned towards hers.  The covers were drawn up to his shoulders, which were bare. Was the rest of him? What was this? The fearful words date rape seared into her brain.
     
      Clutching at her body in panic, Crys was relieved to find herself clad in a t-shirt, much too big, but that was all to the good, because it covered more of her. She forced her mind to accommodate what was happening. How could she be here? In bed with Bryn? Date rape, would they really do that? From the bottom-of-a-parrot’s-cage feeling in her mouth, it seemed likely.
     
      Except she didn’t like to think it of him. It didn’t work. For one thing, Bryn was gay. And she hoped her judgment of character was better than to mistake a warm friendship of twelve months for rabid desire.
     
      “Morning, precious.”
     
      Twisting on to her back so fast she almost winded herself, Crys looked up into the sea-blue eyes of Kai Murdoch.  Feelings and sensations were back with a vengeance now, and she felt the presence of two warm bodies close to her like a protective sleeping blanket. Or a captive one.
     
      Panic gripped her so hard she couldn’t move for a minute, then she lashed out, her only thought to get out of here and to the police.
     
      Kai caught her wrists, bearing them down to either side of her head, seemingly without effort, leaning over her to speak to her gently. “Wait a minute, baby. We’re not the enemy here.”

     
      “No, we’re not.” Bryn’s sleepy voice sounded amazingly normal. “Give us a chance, Crys, and we’ll tell you what happened after you conked out.”
     
      Swallowing, she subsided. With these two powerful men she really had little choice. She’d have to try to get away by other means. Find a telephone, perhaps. “Tell me then,” she croaked.
     
      “First things first.” Hoisting her up, to rest her back against his chest, Kai brought a glass of what looked like water to her lips. “You’re thirsty. Drink, Crys.”
     
      “No!” Convinced they intended to drug her again, she clamped her lips shut. Kai sighed and put the glass down on the small bedside table behind him. “Listen, then. Yes, you were drugged, but not by us. Do you remember anything about last night?”
     
      She closed her eyes briefly and shuddered when the memories flooded back. “Yes.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “I got into Mike’s SUV and they gave me a drink, vodka I think they said it was, but it tasted strange so I didn’t want to finish it. I started to feel dizzy. They forced the drink down my throat.” Her eyes snapped open. “You didn’t do it, they did. So why am I here and not with them?”
     
      Bryn tucked his arms behind his head, the sinews flexing with his movements. He seemed perfectly at ease, lying naked for all she knew under the crisp white sheets. “Crys, they threw you in the river. They wanted us to rescue you, so they could capture us. They didn’t care about you, you were just their bait.  I’m sorry.”
     
      “What?” She remembered some of the muttering she’d heard as she’d gone under. Mike and Geoff and their twisted friends said something about the river. And a bridge. “Which bridge?”
     
      “Vauxhall.” That was right, that was what they said. “I got a call on my mobile telling us to go there, if we wanted to see you alive again. We knew what they planned, but we had no choice.”
     
      “We could hardly leave you at the bottom of the Thames, now could we?” Kai asked from behind her. She still rested against him, weaker than she could ever remember feeling in her life before, but her panic subsiding a little now. “Crys, you know we’d never hurt you. Deep down you know that’s the truth.”
     
      She did. She found it impossible to believe these men would deliberately hurt her. Their friendship had been understanding and steadfast; why would they suddenly do this to her now? So she listened.
     
      “They tied you up, and sealed your nose and mouth with duct tape. That’s what probably saved you, because you didn’t take in water when you went into the Thames. Once we got the stuff off you, I breathed air into you while Kai freed you.”
     
      “How did you do that?” Kai and Bryn exchanged a glance. Crys sighed. “I want to know. I’m finding all this so hard to believe, I need to know it all.”
     
      “She does.” Bryn lost all his customary good humor, and watched her carefully. “They were right about one thing, Crys. I am a merman.”
     
Look for Liquid Crystal re-released soon!

The Summer Sins of Kathy Kulig

I'm thrilled to post news from my friend Kathy Kulig, who writes awesome books! Anyway, over to you, Kathy!

SUMMER SINS by Kathy Kulig

Release day: November 15

Ellora’s Cave

BDSM Erotica, Taboo Line

http://www.ellorascave.com/summer-sins.html

Thanks so much for having me as a guest, Lynne. SUMMER SINS is part of the TropiX series. All books are completely separate stand-alone books and can be read in any order. SPRING BREAK is a ménage erotic romance. Other books will follow.

I have a number of awesome prizes in my Release CONTEST. $25 Gift Card to an ebook store of the winner’s choice, Free Ebooks, and, to a US resident—a 2014 Ellora’s Cave Cavemen Calendar. Sign up through the Rafflecopter at any blog tour stop. Contest runs from November 15- December 14.

#

Blurb: Master Adrian Cayne knows how to bring exquisite pain or pleasure to a woman’s body. Before he’ll take on an inexperienced submissive, he expects her to pass a series of seductive tests of increasing intensity to see if she’s receptive to his unique and dark skills. Under his command and relentless determination, she’ll relinquish control to him.

Emma is known to thoroughly research her articles for the tabloid magazine Scandal. Her latest assignment to write about Dark Odyssey, a new BDSM club, is her chance to indulge in her taboo desires for the sex she craves as a submissive. With her job and future career on the line, she has to write a lurid, gossipy story. But her heart isn’t in it because she falling for Adrian.

Raw and hot passion draws them past guarded limits, but when secrets are revealed, trust will be the final test for true love.

Excerpt 3: Adrian fixed his gaze on her with that intense look she’d seen before. “Matt’s right about one thing. Single women will get hit on all night in this club. You can say you’re not interested or no thank you, but you’d be spending most of your night doing that. You’re young and beautiful and the fact that you’re here usually means you’re looking to hook up.”

“I told you what I wanted and you weren’t interested,” Emma said.

“Daniel couldn’t help you?” he crossed his arms over his chest, making the muscles in his arms stand out.

“He was busy with customers. I haven’t talked to him yet.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to work.”

“Tomorrow evening,” he asked again.

“I have no plans.”

He smiled. “Would you like to sit down?” he pointed to a couple of chairs by a large hibiscus bush, its scarlet flowers folded for the evening.

She and Adrian sat down. “Are you going to train me?” she asked.

“I’m going to test you first.” He took her hand and rubbed her knuckles, then turned her hand over and stroked her palm and wrist. Chills raced up her arms.

Her breath caught. “What kind of test?” Her nipples tightened and her pussy was soaking. He hadn’t done anything. How did he do that?

“I need to see how receptive you are as a submissive. You may say you’re serious, but I’ll be able to tell with a few tests.” His fingers slid up her arm.

Emma’s pulse quickened and she parted her legs slightly. She was that horny. After wandering around in the sexually charged atmosphere, she couldn’t help it. She wanted it too, she wanted Adrian even though they’d just met. “How can you tell?”

“Close your eyes. Trust me.”

She searched his face trying to figure out what he had planned.

“You’re hesitating. A sub would follow an order immediately. Cynthia said you could trust me, right?”

She nodded and closed her eyes.

“Relax.” He glided his fingers up and down her arm, then the other arm. She shivered, then he paused and moved up to her shoulders and neck. The anticipation on where he’d touch her next excited her and heightened her response. Her body was on fire. His caresses were so sensual, so hypnotic and turned her on. Tilting her chin, she gave him access to touch her neck, stroking her, tripping over her collar bone. Her blood pounded in her ears. Then he stopped touching her and her breathing increased. What happened? Why did he stop? She wasn’t going to open her eyes because he didn’t tell her to.

The salty scent of the ocean mingled with the sweet smell of night jasmine. She hadn’t noticed the jasmine blooms anywhere before but the smell drifted on the breeze. Voices of the guests surrounded her, laughter and moans, footsteps, all at a distance.

“Focus on me and what I’m doing,” Adrian said, his voice now in front of her.

Rafflecopter Link for Contest

Contest runs from November 15th – December 14^th.

Kathy’s Links: Website

FB Author     FB     Twitter   Blog

News for November, 2013

News

Halloween isn't as big over here as in the States, but that's partly because we have Bonfire Night. On November  5th 1605 a group of disaffected Catholics tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Some say Guy Fawkes, the man assigned to set the charge was the only honest man who entered the building. Consequently on the same date every year we have bonfires and fireworks, with a Guy, a stuffed straw man, standing on the top. The celebration is a development of the old customs of Britain, when the people allowed themselves feasts and fun. The old mayhem of Mayday and the abundance of the harvest festival are more cases in point, and also examples of how cleverly Christianity took over the old festivals. Not all of them were religious, of course.

The fireworks are accompanied by roasted chestnuts, toffee apples, sausages and other hot goodies, and very often funfairs too. There are a fair few fireworks displays and almost every house has a bonfire party. Sometimes the bonfires are the centre of th party. It breaks up the early nights and the arrival of the cold, wet weather of autumn.

So that means the box set of Hosts to Ghosts is still available at 99 cents for a while. I told you all about it last month, so I won't go on about it more, just a little nudge in case you want a copy, because it’s going up to its full price soon.

That was the ad break. Now NaNo. I do NaNoWriMo most years. I love the concept, that it's for people who always meant to write that novel and never got around to it. NaNo gives that person a definite ambition, so that even if you don't reach the projected word count of 50,000, you're still a winner. These days, with everyone and his grandmother self-publishing on the various platforms, you can even see your book published. But the difference between that and between producing something on a regular basis that is good enough to satisfy both publishers and readers is, I have learned, major. I used to write a lot, but it was always for me. I tore up what I wrote, or left the pages somewhere. Old filing cabinets where I used to work, for instance. I bet they've been incinerated years ago. Snatches of stories, books, ideas sparked by something I've seen. I've always written, as long as I could put pen to paper, so I could probably have done NaNo anyway, but not with something I had the confidence to send out for others to read. During those years I learned more about writing than I thought, which only goes to show that learning by doing is a great way to pick things up. 

This year I'm writing more than one book, I think. Novellas, with any luck, but more about those later. I'm also working on the next book in the upcoming Even Gods Fall In Love series, a project I'm very excited about!

We are starting to work on the next Nightstar book, to get it ready for publication. It's one that many of you want to read about - Zazz is up next!

Hosts to Ghosts, now in a box set at 0.99! For a limited time only!

For a limited time, get the box set of Hosts to Ghosts for 0.99!

Three scorching stories in one box set! Vernon, Nathaniel and The Haunting of Belle Sauvage!

In the linked stories of Black Leather, White Lace, brothers, Vernon and Nathaniel Heatherington, face each other across the yawning chasm of the English Civil War. Their involvement ends in tragedy, when they kill each other in a duel, and they are condemned to haunt the family home until they atone for the sin of fratricide.

Vernon finds his redemption during the Regency, when Cassandra, the current countess, desperately needs his help to protect her from her boor of a husband. His love for her is the only thing that can save her, but Vernon cannot promise anything else.

In the present day, Nathaniel finds the house filled with investigators from the ghost-hunting TV series Hosts to Ghosts. He’s more concerned with Sylvie, the American countess, whose husband threatens to derail the estate and the house. He must sacrifice his happiness to give her the heir she desperately needs to save the inheritance.

The Haunting of Belle Sauvage is set in present day France and America. In France, the owner of Hosts to Ghosts is forcibly converted to a vampire. Although he swears to keep away from his beloved wife Karey, Jordan has to return to the old USA plantation house when an ex-lover threatens to kill her. Voodoo, lost treasure and Jordan’s new state all mitigate against Jordan finding a future with his wife, but Karey has enough courage to fight for the man she loves.

Buy it here:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hosts-Ghosts-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B00FPP7B1Q/

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/hosts-to-ghosts-box-set

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hosts-to-ghosts-box-set-lynne-connolly/1117057091?ean=2940148375623

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/365381