“Paging Miss Galloway”--An Award-Winning Regency!

Author Susanne Marie Knight is very pleased to announce the release of the 2008 Awe-Struck Regency Award Winner--Paging Miss Galloway, published by Awe-Struck Publishing, www.awe-struck.net.

More Than She Bargained For--
Danielle Galloway is determined to visit her convalescing brother. She won’t let her father’s lack of permission stand in her way. Disguising herself as Danny, a servant boy, she takes to the road to begin her grand adventure...only to have her money stolen and her face battered by street ruffians. Now how will she get to the resort town of Bath?

More Than He Bargained For--
The Earl of Trelaine rescues a down-on-his-luck young lad. Against his better judgment, he takes Danny on as his page as he journeys to Bath. But this boy harbors a shocking secret. What’s the earl going to do when he discovers his latest act of kindness might hurl him into the parson’s mousetrap?

Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUMGdKJgtHA to see a trailer of this book.

Reviews:
5 Angels! Regency fans will recognize the storyline. A lady disguised as a boy. A lord attracted to the disguised girl. The high jinx that ensues. Except there are enough twists and turns from the standard story to keep Paging Miss Galloway interesting... Paging Miss Galloway is a delightful Regency read.”--Fallen Angel Reviews.

Top Pick Award! Danielle is a character that you can't help but to be drawn to... Her drama along the way was amusing... PAGING MISS GALLOWAY was never boring... This was not a long story, which gave me more incentive to read it fast to see how the ending turned out. I was not disappointed.”--Romance Reader at Heart.

4.25 Stars! Susanne Knight does a wonderful job of weaving a story of two mismatched lovers who quickly have readers hoping for them to find their way to each other. This is a wonderful romp through Bath that leaves the reader eagerly turning pages to see what Danielle and Edward will do next. ... This wonderful Regency romance ... leaves us wanting more.--Night Owl Romance Book Reviews.

Specializing in “Romance Writing With A Twist!”, Susanne is multi-published with 22 books and numerous short stories. She’s originally from New York City, and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, by way of Okinawa, Montana, Alabama, and Florida. Along with her husband, daughter, and feisty Siamese cat, she enjoys the area’s beautiful ponderosa pine trees and wide, open spaces--a perfect environment for writing.

Paging Miss Galloway is available for purchase electronically through Awe-Struck http://awe-struck.net/AUTHORS52/pmg.html and soon at Fictionwise.com http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/SusanneMarie, among other Internet locations.

Other Regency novels by Susanne include Sojourn Through Time; Regency Society Revisited; The Reluctant Landlord; Lord Darver’s Match; The Magic Token; Timeless Deception; The Contrary Contessa; Have Christmas Card... Will Travel; and A Continental Marriage. To learn more about Susanne’s books, check out her website at http://www.susanneknight.com/.

# # #

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM CAROLINA VALDEZ

May you be as happy as this elf this holiday. And may your challenges be less complicated than his.

He was sent to me by a fan, and he's too great not to share.

Carolina Valdez

Web Site
Bio

NEW RELEASE - SILK STEALTH: SHADOW WARRIOR by Carolina Valdez

Thanks to a question from Trace Edward Zaber, co-owner and submissions director for Amber Quilll Press, here's the sequel to SILK STEALTH--

When rock star Shiraj Mansouri travels with his band Stealth and his lover Ellen Mays to Dubai in the land of veiled women, he expects only to perform in a benefit concert for the children of the United Arab Emirates. When the CIA draws him into a game of intrigue as an untrained “shadow warrior” for a mission, he agrees. Speaking the Farsi and Arabic languages of his heritage, he’s confident he can handle the simple task. After all, his CIA father had once been a pro at this.

Passion and heat are rekindling an old love between Ellen and Shiraj. Not willing to be separated, they disregard a warning the trip could be dangerous for her, and she goes with him.

Powerful tribal sheikhs rule this multicultural, Islamic emirate. To encourage tourism, the Qu’ran’s teachings are applied less strictly for visitors. Between performances, Shiraj and his entourage experience the exotic, sensual uniqueness of this second richest city in the world. In the midst of their enjoyment, evil strikes from an unexpected source.

What once seemed simple turns harrowing as Shiraj and Ellen fight for their lives. If they lose, Stealth will disband and the mission will die with them.

Carolina Valdez

Stories of searing passion and the sweetly delicious ecstasies of love

Website
Excerpt
Twitter
MySpace

SILK STEALTH by Carolina Valdez

STEALTH was the name I chose for my band in the rock and roll story I pitched to Trace Edward Zaber, Amber Quill Press co-owner and submissions director. He immediately asked if it was a sequel to SILK STEALTH. Well, no. And then, as I chewed on the idea, Yes! I just posted SILK STEALTH: SHADOW WARRIOR for you. Here's the first story in the series.

When pediatrician Elizabeth Michaels, M.D., signs up to travel to a Middle Eastern country for a brief stint with an Across Borders Physicians team, she has no idea her visit will expose her to danger and offer her love. Confronted by agents from the C.I.A. and ordered to secretly accompany a wounded person out of the country, she has no choice but to consent. No other American physician will be in that part of the country.

Shocked to find her assignment is not a child but one of the most handsome men she's ever seen, she wrestles with the ethics of her profession--acting on romantic feelings for a patient is absolutely forbidden.

When Special Agent Shir Mansouri regains consciousness, he looks into the most most beautiful eyes he's ever seen on a woman. Her confidence and competence as she manages his injuries, her body as he surreptitiously watches her undress, stir things deep in his belly and his heart. Cursing his weakness, he will nevertheless guard her with his life.

But when danger rears its dragon head, he finds himself torn between Nation and self.

Carolina Valdez

Stories of searing passion and the sweetly delicious ecstasies of love

Website
Excerpt
Twitter
MySpace

In the Muddle of a Book

There are times when you have an idea that is so good, it grabs you by the scruff of your neck and won't let go -- until you come to a dead end and it runs for the exit. But it's left in a file on your desktop, lurking there, snagging your cursor and accidentally popping up again, sparking an idea of how to continue -- then just as you reach what would be the middle of your book, yep, it takes another vacation.

There's a second axiom in the writing business -- "Don't ever write about a writer!" Editors, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that writers aren't interesting characters. We probably aren't. But once in a while we have an interesting observation, have an experience out of the ordinary -- whatever. Well, the vagrant idea I have is about a writer who is in the right place at the right time and has enough talent to be fast-tracked into literary limelight.

I'm in the middle of the book -- what we writers call the "Muddle" --where many an author has thrown up his hands and dumped the whole file into the "recycle" bin. But I am trudging onward, knowing that my writer can handle whatever I throw at her. She can work her way of of the Muddle -- and still get the guy.

Somewhere there is an editor who has never bought into the idea that writers can't be heroes or heroines. All I have to do is find her!

GHOULISH GALA CONTEST AND EXCERPT - AMBER QUILL PRESS
BOOK ONE OF THE PORTAL TO DARKNESS SERIES

When Diana Waters attends her first Mardi Gras masked ball in New Orleans, she has no inkling she’ll be spun back in time to the Dark Ages on a carousel manipulated by the jealous witch LeFay Morgan. She has no clue her new lover, Lance Davison, costumed as a black knight, is in actuality a powerful wizard. He follows her not only to protect her, but to break the curse cast on him by the evil wizard Mardroc and save his brother’s castle holdings.

Will Diana and Lance be able to survive their journey into the portal to darkness, where a deadly drang and great, spider-like creatures pursue them at every step? Or will they discover a way to destroy their ruthless enemies and return to the present day, unscathed and with their love intact?

EXCERPT - WARNING - EXPLICIT - YOU MUST BE 18 OR OLDER TO READ THIS

Diana found the portables, and, when using one of them, was careful to touch as little as possible so as not to pick up an illness, protecting her hand with paper even as she unlocked the door. As she exited, she was intent on tossing the paper in a trash can and didn't see the man until he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward a dark alley. Although there were people lined up to use the toilets, a fight had broken out over someone who'd crowded in, and no one noticed she was being accosted.

Indignant at what the man was doing, she cried, "Let go of me!" and opened her mouth to scream.

A fat, greasy hand clamped over it before she could. His breath was fetid and he smelled of urine. Panic stopped her breath. She sought to calm down by telling herself Phebe would find her if she didn't return. When she thought of the enormous crowds and how difficult it would be to get help, dismay rocked her. Her heart raced. She thought her blood pressure must be off the chart.

If she was to get away, she had to do it herself. Stomping on the man's instep and managing to bite his little finger when he loosened his hold on her mouth, she got out one good scream before he grabbed her hair and slapped her. Tears stung her eyes from the pain. He grabbed her arm and twisted it up behind her back.

"Quiet, bitch, or I'll break it."

He will, too. Oh, God, what am I going to do?

* * * *

The afternoon sun was beginning to set, and panic was creeping up on Lance because he hadn't found the women. He'd been listening all afternoon for the notes of the cat's eye. It was a small stone, not a gem, so its song was softer and more difficult to hear over the sounds of the bands and revelers. It was fortunate there were few real gems in this crowd to override its tones. Most of it was costume jewelry. At last, he heard its hum. Like a global positioning system, his ears told him where she was.

He heard Diana scream. Heard how quickly it was cut off.

Fighting his way through the crowd as he followed the cat's eye hum, he saw her being mauled and hauled off by a nasty-looking man who would have snapped her arm on a whim. At least he was only a man. Lance sensed that in seconds. Two strides into the alley, and Lance had clipped him behind his ear. The man released Diana and dropped like a stone.

He'd never get up again.

Lance reached for her as she stumbled at the sudden release of her arm, catching her before she fell to the ground. Turning, she recognized him. She reached for him as if she were drowning. He held her tight. His heart thought his chest was a drum. He felt hers pounding like a Thoroughbred's on a racetrack. Emotion welled up in him at how close she'd come to being hurt, and his mouth found hers, just as hers reached up to him.

He drank in her fear and her sweetness, letting his groin swell and his balls tighten. He slid his hands to her buttocks and cupped her hard against him as she opened her mouth and tongue to him. What he felt for her was unlike anything he'd ever felt for a woman before. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted any other.

He slid down the zipper on her jeans so he could touch her skin, feel her heat, know she was safe. Her tremors racked his body as well as her own, and he wanted to love her, comfort her.

Whimpers of need came from the back of her throat as his hands slid down her jeans. Her skin was molten and soft. He had no difficulty finding the center of her, of sliding his fingers into her and cupping her.

Her moan was low and sensual. His erection was instantaneous, and so hard it pained him.

Her hands freed him of his trousers and released his penis. The cool air on it signaled him he was not only erect, he was lubricated and ready to slide into her waiting vagina. She pressed him against the alley wall, lifted one leg and curled it around his hip. Then her hand closed around his cock, and he thought he'd come right then and there in her hand, but he hung on, savoring the pleasure when she guided him into her hot box. Her fingers continued to rub his cock where it touched her folds.

He'd heard her sharp intake of breath as he entered her. Despite the shock of the attack, she'd become aroused because he'd rescued her. Hot and damp, she'd been ready for him. Her walls clamped down as if he brought life itself to her, and she matched his strokes as they took each other with such fierce intensity it was as if their bodies had ignited.

When his semen was inside her, and they were both drained by the encounter, he kissed her with all the gentleness he had. "You're safe now. Are you okay?"

He could see her eyes in the darkness, their pupils wide and round. Her lips were puffy where passion had driven them, hungry and hard, against each other.

She laid her head against his shoulder and whispered, "More than fine with your arms around me and you inside me. I owe you my life. Thank you."

There was honesty in her face. She had no regrets about the impromptu sexual encounter. He didn't either. He hoped it would happen again.

They dressed and, taking her hand, he led her away from the place of her attack.

She didn't ask about the man on the ground. He didn't speak of him...

CONTEST
The photo on the left shows my three prizes: 1. Black ghost hand towel and a can of Spider Cider hot drink mix in Cautious Caramel Apple flavor 2. White jack-o'-lantern hand towel, two packets of orange hot chocolate mix, one pumpkin pie spice votive candle 3. Green witch hand towel and multicolored 14 ounce Starbuck's cup.

CONTEST IS ONLY OPEN TO NEWSLETTER MEMBERS. CURRENT NEWSLETTER MEMBERS HAVE BEEN AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED. IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER, SIGN UP BY SENDING A BLANK EMAIL TO sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com AND YOU, TOO, WILL BE ENTERED AUTOMATICALLY.

CONTEST BEGAN October 26, 2008. CLOSES November 3, 2008. I mail prizes to addresses within the continental U.S. Winners outside the continental U.S. will receive a free book download if mailing costs are prohibitive.

Carolina Valdez

Website
Buy
Myspace
Twitter


Reminder: Join my newsletter to be entered in my contest. Send a blank email to sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Stories of searing passions and the sweetly delicious ecstasies of love

GHOULISHLY INTO THE PAST

Yesterday, I shared an excerpt from LURE, my sixth release from Amber Quill Press, because they're celebrating their sixth year in epublishing. Today I'm into time travel, which is weird because WOMAN IN BLACK LACE is the second book in the PORTAL TO DARKNESS series, but tomorrow is witches, wizards and magic day, so PORTAL... fits better there. But first, my contest.

The photo on the left shows my three prizes: 1. Black ghost hand towel and a can of Spider Cider hot drink mix in Cautious Caramel Apple flavor 2. White jack-o'-lantern hand towel, two packets of orange hot chocolate mix, one pumpkin pie spice votive candle 3. Green witch hand towel and multicolored 14 ounce Starbuck's cup.

CONTEST IS ONLY OPEN TO NEWSLETTER MEMBERS. CURRENT NEWSLETTER MEMBERS HAVE BEEN AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED. IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER, SIGN UP BY SENDING A BLANK EMAIL TO sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com AND YOU, TOO, WILL BE ENTERED AUTOMATICALLY.

CONTEST BEGAN October 26, 2008. CLOSES November 3, 2008. I mail prizes to addresses within the continental U.S. Winners outside the continental U.S. will receive a free book download if mailing costs are prohibitive.

BLURB:


Seduction is what book store clerk Phebe Jones has in mind as she dresses in erotic black lace and a feathered mask for a masquerade ball in Washington, D.C. Weary of her dull life, she’s determined to seduce the first masked party goer who makes her clit throb and her panties dampen. Still, she hesitates when the hunk she’s selected—a blond dressed in a kilt and wearing blue face paint reminiscent of Braveheart—invites her to his room after the festivities. Does she really have the courage for sex with a stranger?

Reminding herself this was her original intention, she steps across the threshold into the arms of a plaid-wrapped blond the size of the Scorpion King. In the searing heat of his arousing touch, it’s difficult to tell which of them is the seducer. His scent and the feel of his body inflame her senses. He invades her heart as easily as he invades her heart.

But the dark just before dawn brings the greatest shock of Phebe’s life, making her question the true identity of her new lover, where she is, and even what year it is. In panic, she grapples with the greatest challenge of her life—how she will return to 2008, when she has no idea how she left it for the past.

EXCERPT - WARNING - EXPLICIT - YOU MUST BE 18 OR OVER TO READ THIS

Cam's room was only a few doors away. She hoped he hadn't ordered more champagne. Much more alcohol and she'd be too drunk to seduce him. Sexual excitement fluttered in her chest and belly as she imagined his warm, satiny erection in her hands and his mouth at her clit. She shivered with pleasure. It was too hot to consider.

Opening the door to what she thought was his room, she stepped inside and stopped. Two men and a woman were engaged in a ménage à trois. She could tell by the masks and the lack of blue face paint that neither of the men was Cam.

I'm in the wrong room, thank goodness.

So that's how it's done. Instead of exiting right away, she stared at the activity before her. She'd never seen anything like this and couldn't pull herself away. They were too busy to notice her.

The figures were naked, except for masks and the men's socks. It might have been ridiculous, except for the sounds and sights issuing from the three. Phebe could smell the woman's thick, heady perfume even from the doorway. She lay on her back on the bed, knees bent, legs spread wide enough her knees almost touched the covers. One man's face was buried in her pussy. His erection touched his navel.

The second man stood beside the bed, rubbing his cock. His gaze never left them.

Fascinated, she watched as, under his fondling, it swelled and rose from a patch of auburn hair.

Judging from the rocking of the bed, and the gasps and sighs issuing from her throat, the woman was enjoying what was transpiring between her thighs. Holding the man's head, she moaned louder and lifted her hips, gyrating against his face.

She could tell when the woman climaxed because she grabbed the man's shoulders and cried out. This appeared to be the signal for him to fuck her because he climbed on the bed and straddled her. Her hand closed around his dick to guide it into her slit before wrapping her legs around him. He began to pump.

The standing man lay down on his side on the bed, his wet cock near her face. He reached for her breast, and the woman turned her head and took him in her mouth, one hand stroking his balls.

This wasn't to her taste. Phebe couldn't imagine "letting it all out" this much, but she admitted the tableau had triggered throbbing in her clitoris and the desire for a man to go down on her pussy, too. She chose not to stay for the finale. Stepping into the hall, she shut the door so it latched without noise.

Checking his room number again, she realized she should have been the next floor up. As she passed the balcony overlooking the dance floor, she stopped and looked down to make sure Cam wasn't still there. Staring at the scene below, all thought fled.

What the hell?

No D. J. No music.

Long tables and benches dotted what had been the ballroom, and a fire blazed in a huge open hearth. A pot hung over coals in the corner from a tripod. Rough men dressed in plaids sat on the benches and drank from tankards. They tore at huge drumsticks of meat held in their hands or spooned a stew of some kind into trenchers. Voices rose and the men laughed deep, booming guffaws. Sometimes one of them would slap another on the back or shove shoulder to shoulder. One tipsy man tumbled off the end of the bench after a shoulder shove, and that triggered doubling-over gales of laughter.

It was surreal. She shook herself. She wiped her eyes and looked again. Nothing had changed.

What was this? Had the masked partygoers left and a new group arrived? That didn't make sense, she told herself. Like her, many of the costumed people were spending the weekend at the castle. Maybe this was a play geared to inspire guests to increase their pledge card amounts. Or perhaps they were shooting a film.

If she didn't get to her rendezvous soon, she'd be too drunk to be fucked by the sensual Cam, much less to remember it.

Locating the correct room, she reached for the doorknob, then stopped. To her surprise, the new Phebe wasn't firmly entrenched. With her courage at ebb instead of flow, she asked herself if this was really what she wanted to do. Determination raised its head. Removing her mask, she straightened and drew in a deep breath.

Show time, woman. She opened the door and walked in...

An Amber Quill Press/Heat Best Seller
5 Hearts! from reviewer Sandra, The Romance Studio

Carolina Valdez

Website
Buy
Myspace
Twitter

Reminder: Join my newsletter to be entered in my contest. Send a blank email to sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Stories of searing passions and the deliciously sweet ecstasies of love

EXCERPT AND CONTEST - GHOULISH GALA

Congratulations to the owners and staff of Amber Quill Press as they celebrate SIX SUCCESSFUL YEARS in the epublishing business. Since "six" is big here, I'm sharing an excerpt from LURE, my SIXTH release with them, as part of this celebration. But first, my contest.

The photo on the left shows my three prizes: 1. Black ghost hand towel and a can of Spider Cider hot drink mix in Cautious Caramel Apple flavor 2. White jack-o'-lantern hand towel, two packets of orange hot chocolate mix, one pumpkin pie spice votive candle 3. Green witch hand towel and multicolored 14 ounce Starbuck's cup.

THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO NEWSLETTER MEMBERS ONLY. IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER, SIGN UP BY SENDING A BLANK EMAIL TO sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Note: My Yahoo ID is jennydalton35, the name of my first heroine with Amber Quill, and messages will arrive from keen3849@mypacks.net

CONTEST BEGINS today, October 26, 2008. CLOSES November 3, 2008. If mailing costs are prohibitive, winners outside the continental U.S. will receive a free book download.

"To lure the killer of two women into the open, and find evidence of illegal gun sales by the owner of Pinky's Club, ATF sends Special Agent Karin Woodhall undercover as an exotic dancer. Angelo Santini, her new back up, finds her too sensual to resist. Anguished over her safety in the seedy world of bikers, drugs, and weapons, he demands she withdraw from the job. Karin adamantly refuses, setting up a tension that heightens the danger as they work this assignment."

EXCERPT:

...She ached for him not just to play with her nipple, but to lick and suck and even nip it gently with his teeth. She arched toward him, reaching to pull up his T-shirt and run her hands over his broad, solid pecs and play with his nipples, kissing his chest as she felt them tighten beneath her touch.

He stopped and pulled down her blouse.

“Don’t,” she said, her lips against his.

“Don’t?”

“Don’t stop, Angelo. Don’t stop.”

A low, lion-like growl escaped from him.

She whimpered. Hungry for him, her body taut with urgency, she drove her tongue into his mouth, tasting him in the same way she wanted to be explored and tasted. She loosened his belt and worked at the metal buttons on his Levis. She slipped her hand down inside his boxers and found his cock, as large and hard as she’d expected, as it sprang free of the nest of curls and into her hand. She fondled him, delicately stroking him and playing with the tip, knowing from the way he writhed that he couldn’t resist her.

Suddenly she felt as powerful as she had standing at the pole that first time she’d danced to him.

“Oh, God, Karin. Magnificent Karin with her HK in hand.” He feathered her face and neck with kisses, moaning with pleasure at her touch. His hands fumbled at the button and zipper to her jeans.

She heard the whisper of the zipper as it slid down, and she reached to help him free her buttocks and sex. “Touch me. I want you to touch me there. Rub me here,” she whispered into his mouth as she guided his hand to her clit and set it in emotion while she lifted her hips so her mons pressed hard against his palm as she melted into his body.

“Are you sure you won’t be sorry about this tomorrow, Agent Woodhall?” His voice was rough from excitement.

“Maybe, but tonight it feels too good to forego, Agent Santini...”


Included in the JUST THE BARE FACTS, MA'AM AmberPax, an EPPIE 2007 Erotic Suspense Finalist.

5 Angels! from reviewer Linda L., Fallen Angel Reviews

Carolina Valdez


Website
Buy LURE now
Myspace
Join my newsletter by sending a blank email to sweet_ecstasies-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Stories of searing passions and the deliciously sweet ecstasies of love