Unstoppable Receives RONE Nomination

I'm very excited and grateful for the RONE nomination for Unstoppable, Book 5 in the Fierce Hearts series. I would appreciate votes for my book if you feel so inclined. Visit InDtale RONE Voting Week 4 and vote. It's easy. You'll find Unstoppable under Short Paranormal in the fourth week of voting May 8 - 18.

Here's the book blurb and an excerpt.

Blurb:

Reeling from the recent Project Powering battle with the evil Nexus Group, were-lynx and veterinarian Lara Monroe struggles with thwarting the group's plans to eliminate her colony while dealing with her own traumatic past. Still, when her fellow colony cat - and secret crush - Booker Chase needs help, she's willing to use her special healing touch to help him survive his emotional hell.
A formidable were-lynx and a physician, Booker has his hands full helping patients who were seriously injured in the battle. But nothing can repair his soul, broken from the loss of his wife and the PTSD from his service in Afghanistan . . . or can it? Now that his good friend Lara is standing by him in his emotional struggles, he's finding there is more to their connection than he realized. But dare he open his heart?

In the epic conclusion of the Fierce Hearts series, the colony takes its biggest risk of all to shut down the Nexus Group forever - will Lara and Booker survive to take their second chance at love?

Excerpt:

Lara tuned out whatever Marcus was saying as he inserted the blade inside her mouth. She closed her eyes, focusing tightly on soothing the terrified little girl inside her that had quietly endured so much pain. She recited the phrase she’d used to take her out of her body in the times her uncle had molested her. Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you, God, for everything.

Her eyes flew open and searing pain hardened her grip on the sides of the bed as Marcus sliced into her gum tissue. The affirmative phrase left her thoughts as her mind screamed. Or was that her shrill shriek pouring out of her mouth?

“Stop it! Stop it!” Booker demanded, a low, menacing growl rolling from his throat. “I’m sorry, Lara. So sorry, babe.”

Marcus withdrew the scalpel, twirling it casually. Lara tasted blood on her tongue, oozing from the cut in her gums. Nausea swept through her.

Booker rocked in his chair. “Hang in there. Lara. I’m right here.”

Marcus snorted. “Not that you can help her. That is unless you tell me where I can find my son.” The tone of his voice was a sharp edge.

A steadying wave of Booker’s healing energy filled her. It calmed her frayed nerves enough that the panic robbing her breath lessened.

Marcus smirked again and bent over her, and another slice sent her mind thrashing for the words she’d memorized years ago. What is that damn phrase? Umm … Birdies sing, angels bring … oh hell. She glared at Marcus and hollered, long and loud.

Buy Links: Amazon 

http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Unstoppable/Lynn-Crandall/Fierce-Hearts/9781440589591

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unstoppable/id1195921943?mt=11

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unstoppable-lynn-crandall/1123425865?ean=9781440589591&st=PLA&sid=NOK_DRS_NOOK+EBooks_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP75008

Tuesday Special: Tethered by Beth Caudill

Beth Caudill

http://BethCaudill.net/

     Evelyn Brooks lives with the freedom only her kind can know—in her human form as a photographer, and in the skies as a falcon. When a stalker drives her from her home, Evelyn discovers a beautiful, wild sanctuary in North Carolina. After a bolt of magic knocks her from the sky, leaving her helpless, she realizes too late that danger invaded her refuge.
     Park ranger Lawke Morgan’s day goes from bad to worse when his ex-wife unexpectedly drops off their 13-year-old daughter in the beginning of a dangerous storm. His life takes a turn for the bizarre after he finds an injured Peregrine falcon that transforms into a lovely woman. 
     When his daughter is kidnapped by an Aztec priest, one who should have been dead for centuries, Lawke learns that Evelyn holds the key to the priest’s demands. Together they must confront blood sacrifices, defy ancient gods and find a way to trust each other when a young girl’s life hangs in the balance. 
     Can a woman used to soaring amongst the clouds embrace love with a man firmly rooted on the ground?

Amazon US      Barnes and Noble  iBooks        Kobo        Google

Leave a comment for a chance to win this beautiful blue crystal bookmark!

Although Beth grew up in West Virginia, she currently resides in North Carolina with her husband, two sons and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who makes an excellent lap warmer. Blending the analytical and creative sides of her brain, she delights in creating fantasy worlds for others. Catch her online most days except when NCIS and Once Upon a Time air.


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Captured by Christmas

December Special: Captured by Christmas

by Lynn Crandall and Lainee Cole

Release date: December 5, 2016 

It’s Christmas, and the season of holly, Christmas trees, and goodwill is drifting on air in merry holiday wishes. Romantic suspense and paranormal author Lynn Crandall and contemporary author Lainee Cole present in their own way two stories of love in Captured by Christmas. However it finds you—under a Christmas tree or drifted in snow in a backwoods cabin—the spirit of the season will wrap you in love.

In Snowbound, Lynn Crandall lets readers check in on favorite Fierce Hearts series were-lynx characters Kennedy Mitchell and Asher Monroe as they uncover the identity of the creature scaring the humans in Octavia, a small rural community in northern Michigan. Plans for an intimate getaway and family-style holiday are crumbling as the snow piles higher and Kennedy and Asher find themselves snowbound with a killer outside their door.

In The Mistletoe Effect, Christmas is second-grade teacher Tess McCall’s least favorite holiday, but she’s doing her best not to let it show. Learning he’s a father to seven-year-old Holly makes Alex Randle anxious about the upcoming holidays. When Tess’s class starts reading to shelter dogs, Holly and the antics of shelter dog Mistletoe lead them all to rediscover the magic of Christmas.

Lynn Crandall’s Social Media Links: 

Website: http://lynn-crandall.com/

Blog: http://lynn-crandall.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynnCrandallAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lcrandall246 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6198966.Lynn_Crandall 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Crandall/e/B00AX9OA40

Lainee Cole Social Media Links: 

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/LaineeColeAuthor/
Facebook personal page: https://www.facebook.com/lainee.cole.77

Email: laineecoleauthor@gmail.com

Cravings Sale

Right now Cravings, the second book in my Fierce Hearts series, is on sale at $0.99 https://t.co/HTXLlmkrxP

Here’s an excerpt from Cravings:

Kennedy quietly slid open the window, grateful Lara’s apartment was located on the first floor, climbed over, and jumped the short distance to the ground.

Her skin itched, and the longing to shimmer—to change into her lynx form—pushed up her adrenaline several notches. The urgency in her gut sent her racing down the street, past the line of apartments, past the strip mall, until finally she found an alley to disappear into while she made the transition. She pulled at her sweatshirt, then stopped. She caught a whiff of another were-cat.

“What are you up to, Kennedy?” It was Asher Monroe, a were-bobcat who was one of the colony cats and Lara’s brother, standing at the opening of the alley.

She sagged to the ground, clothes still intact. She watched him shuffle toward her and with little effort tamped down the adrenaline surge she’d been running on. She was all about control of her body and its mechanisms and emotions, thanks to her training with her fake parents and her handlers with The Nexus Group.

Asher’s blond hair caught a glimmer of sunlight, and suddenly, it was all she could focus on. The mussed-up look fit his devil-may-care expression. His broad shoulders and muscled biceps under his jacket spoke volumes about his fit physique. She might be numb inside, but she wasn’t dead, and her rapid heartbeat proved it. “I’m not up to anything, you idiot. I just needed some air.”

He looked down at her, his eyes a startling, pale yellow rimmed in brown, and chuckled. “I get that.” He squatted near her, not so close that her invasion alarm went off but not so far that he felt impersonal. “The colony can crawl down your neck without knowing it, but they mean you no harm.”

She sent him a glare. “What are you, the sentinel? Making sure the subject doesn’t escape?” Her remark landed hard, she could see that in his eyes, but she wanted him to know no one was pulling the wool over her eyes. They didn’t trust her any more than she trusted them.

Asher shook his head and pursed his lips. “You’re a tough one, aren’t you,” he stated rather than asked.

From the Heart

I have a very soft spot in my heart for animals. Animals of all kinds. When I read in my Facebook feed about yet another way humans abuse and neglect animals, I get sick inside. Lions being bred for shooting on private property devoted to hunting them. Dogs being skinned alive (!!!) for their meat. Cats being burned for entertainment. All of that and more makes me want to shake some sense into humans.

I have always shared my life with animals. My cats and dogs have been members of the family. I enjoy the interaction and entertainment of having pets and sharing their unconditional love. These days, I also get pleasure from offering support services for stray cats that pass through my backyard. During the last three or four years 17 cats have gotten food and water and a place out of the weather through help from my husband and me. Several were spayed or neutered. All of them were taken to a vet for vaccinations and a checkup. Most of them found a forever home through cat rescues and the local humane society. Relieving suffering of innocent animals makes my heart glow.

When I started brainstorming for Secrets, my first paranormal romance, I wanted to highlight this aspect of my life, my love of animals. The idea bloomed very readily into a story line. Secrets became the book of my heart because of the element of were-lynxes in the story and the heroine’s involvement in cat rescue. With my passion for helping animals it was very easy to write the story of Michelle, a young woman who no one rescued on the night she got raped, but who went the extra mile to rescue cats from neglect, poor living conditions, and hunger. With her hero, Casey, cast as a were-lynx, opportunities popped up for discussion about inhuman ways of humans, and that continues with the next book, Cravings. I love that the were-lynxes have opinions about humans. Here’s an excerpt from Cravings:

     Kennedy wiggled in her seat, refocusing her thoughts. The sensations gliding throughout her body made her shake her head. No. This wasn’t real. She turned to steal a glance at Asher, expecting to catch his gaze and confirm that his ability to nudge her was at the bottom of her swirling feelings. In which case she’d punch his face.
     But Asher was leaning forward, engaged in an earnest conversation about the growing population of big cats in the Midwest.
     “Humans decimated their numbers in the Midwest and now that a few cougars have been seen in parts of the Midwest, you can bet hunters will eliminate the strides that have been made.” Asher shook his head. “Or habitat intrusion will leave these animals with nowhere to go and nowhere to hunt. It makes me sick.”

I think it’s important that writers pay attention to book trends and if possible write for the market. But I agree with what guest blogger Sara Megibow posted on Nelson Literary Agency.

“So, if you are looking at publishing and are tempted to ask, ‘do you think XYZ is hot right now?’ stop. Take a deep breath. Yes the market is important but so is writing a book you believe in wholeheartedly,” Megibow wrote.

Investing in what is meaningful to you will infuse your writing with passion and create pleasure in your work.

At least it did for me.

Is every book you write a book of the heart?