FOLLOWER LOVE GIVEAWAY HOP! And the Winner’s Are …

PLEASE NOTE: THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AND CONTACTED AND I’M NOW PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE:

1st Place Winner: CHANDRA HAUN with a copy of Darkness & Light

2nd Place Winner: SWEETY with a copy of Into the Unknown

3rd Place Winner: MARY REISS with a copy of Instinct

THIS HOP HAD A HUGE RESPONSE. MANY, MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roll up, roll up, and welcome to another awesome bloghop giveaway!

This one has been organised by I am a Reader, Not a Writer & Rachael Renee Anderson. So a HUGE thanks to them. As usual, clicking on the image will take you to where you’ll find an entire list of blogs hosting giveaways for this event. Be sure to check them out.

Okay, moving on …

As Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and I LOVE Valentine’s Day … and because in only four days, I will have been married for 17 years, I’m in a loving kind of mood, which puts me in a giving kind of mood.

So … because of that, I shall be altering up how I do this giveaway. This time there’ll be three prizes: three winners—one prize each.

Make sense?

And here’s what’s up for grabs. Three lucky winners will each win ONE of these E-Books:

Jem Stonehouse, a housewife with a neurotic husband bent on keeping her in line, dreams about werewolves in, what she believes, is a bid to escape boredom.
Sean Holloway is a werewolf, living a charade within the human race, whose mind drifts to a bond he shares with a woman he hasn’t met–at least, not in this lifetime.
Apart, the two are safe but live unfulfilled lives.
Together, they’ll become prey to rival packs just as they have been for hundreds of years.
When their worlds collide, and not for the first time, instinct takes over. Dreams become reality. Futures are uncertain. To keep history from repeating itself, Sean must teach Jem about his heritage, convince her of her role, and win her love.
Can Jem accept her destiny before it’s too late, or is her inner wolf buried too deep to save her future with Sean?

Darkness & Light (A Holloway Pack Story, 1)

Werewolf Sean Holloway treats the village marketplace like a sexual buffet, though his charm does little to win over his latest entrée of choice. Whether because of Jem Stonehouse’s unique scent, her headstrong nonchalance, or the fact he is forbidden to see her by his pack’s rules, Sean wants her.
When Jem is nothing but flippant toward his advances, he pursues her with vigour, stealing moments alone with her without a libido-driven agenda.
The new and heady experience for him drives their relationship beyond romantic interest, and straight toward love.
That is, until Jem learns the truth about Sean’s heritage. Knowledge of the existence of werewolves leads to only one outcome: death.
In this prequel to Darkness & Light, we are taken back in time, to the very beginning of Jem and Sean’s love-across-the-centuries relationship.
Did it end there? Or did Sean defy his own pack to save the woman he loves?

Instinct (A Holloway Pack Story, 0)

Three men never expected love to wreak so much havoc in their lives.
In Marked, Darkness & Light’s Sean Holloway is on a mission—to find the perfect gift for the woman of his dreams. When all conventional choices turn out to be the wrong ones, each failed attempt convinces Sean his self-imposed task is impossible. But in the world of the Holloway Pack, anything is possible if it can be kept a secret.
In Misguided, Little White Lies’s Wyatt Moreland is hot on the trail of a wanted man when a rumor about his fiancée halts his progress. His desire to keep her safe wars with her need to be involved in his work and could derail their entire wedding unless he finds out the truth before she does.
In Tempted, The Glass Man’s Liam Kane made a promise to the fae he loves never to use his power to harm others. When a horrific event angers him, the energy boiling inside seduces him into walking a dark path. He has but one choice: resist his own nature or give up the one he loves.
Will the three men make the right choices? Or will their actions destroy their futures with the women they love?

OR Into the Unknown (featuring my short story Marked)

Winner gets first choice, followed by the two runners up in descending order.

So, how do you enter?

Well, as this is a ‘Follower’ Hop, I figured a little following might be called for. So, to qualify for entry, I ask that you please either follow me on Twitter, or ‘like’ my Facebook Page (or both if the fancy takes you). And once you’ve done that, simply fill in THIS FORM!

(Please note: This is my first attempt at using a Google Doc form for entry. If any problems, please state in the comments below and I will count that as your entry. Thanks)

Good Luck!

T&C

Only entries received via the entry form will count—although I LOVE comments, and you’re welcome to leave one, they will not be counted as an entry.

Winners will be chosen after midnight of 14/02/12 and contacted shortly after to be informed of their prize.

Winners must respond to accept their prize within 48 hours or a new recipient will be chosen.

Winners need to allow permission for me to forward their email address to my publisher to allow delivery of prize.

Prizes are as stated.

3 GUYS + 1 WOMAN = TOTAL AWESOMENESS!

What?

Wait!

It’s not what y’all think, you dirty minded blighter’s.

It’s a character interview.

And it’s happening over at BurningxImpossiblyxBright right now!

Yes, to celebrate the launch of Into the Unknown (just yesterday, in fact) Ambur is hosting a giveaway for us, but on top of that … she agreed to interview the three guys who appear in the Into the Unknown anthology:

Sean Holloway (of Darkness & Light)

Wyatt Moreland (of Little White Lies) &

Liam (of The Glass Man).

I’ve never had as much fun as I did corroborating with the marvellous Aimee Laine and delightful Jocelyn Adams to compose this triple interview.

So … to witness the witty banter of the thrumming threesome and for a chance to win yourself a copy of Into the Unknown, all the have to do is fly on over to Ambur’s blog.

Go, go, go, goooooo!

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE ….

There’s nothing quite like waiting for that day come to round: the launch of a new release.

I got the jig-bug when Darkness & Light launched.

I got the jig-bug when my free short story Fated Encounter launched.

And I’ve got it again. Because today is the official release day of my short story Marked in the Into the Unknown anthology.

So, if you’ll allow me just a moment to screech out my Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I shall reveal my true purpose for attempting to lure you all here.

December will be a great month for giveaways so it stood to reason that launch day would be an apt time to announce one. Yep, over on the blog of J. Taylor Publishing, there is a great giveaway happening. For a chance to win E-Books (including Into the Unknown and Darkness & Light), bookmarks, and goodies galore, head on over—all you have to do is leave a comment on there.

How about you? What news do you have to share lately?

MARKED {INTO THE UNKNOWN} #sixsunday

Good Sunday, everyone!

Thank you all for returning to my blog each week to read my snippets.

Anyone who has been following knows that Sean Holloway has been secretly shopping for something secret. This week? His big brother Ethan thinks he’s found the solution. From Marked, in the Into the Unknown anthology due out December 1st:

Beneath the harsh glare of supermarket strip lights, Ethan waved a packet beneath my nose. I dragged my focus from the crinkly plastic and gave him my disbelief full force. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“No.” He rustled the packaging in front of my eyes. “Come on, admit it—it’s genius.”

Ethan–so full of his own worth, hehehe.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing in my Marked samples. Alas, this is the last week I shall be sharing them. Not because I’m stepping down from 6SS, though–but because, starting next week, I shall be sharing sentences from Instinct–a Sean Holloway novella. So if you’ve enjoyed this tale of his, please come back to share in another one.

Cheers for stopping by. Links to the other participants can be found HERE—you should check them out—or why not sign up and join in the fun yourself?

MARKED {INTO THE UNKNOWN} #sixsunday

Good Sunday, everyone!

Thank you all for returning to my blog each week to read my snippets.

For the last couple weeks, you’ve followed the antics of Sean Holloway and no doubt tried to figure out what the shifty werewolf (get it: shifty werewolf? Heh) has been up to. This week, he hits the shops again, trying to find what he’s been looking for in his secret outings. From Marked, in the Into the Unknown anthology due out December 1st:

“It’s just that she has a tendency to … swell …” My fingers stretched out from compressed to straight, like I thought the mime explained everything in one action. “… or grow … bigger … and I need jewellery that will accommodate that.”

“Is it some form of oedema your partner is suffering with?” asked Mr Owl.

I swung my attention back to the huge unblinking eyes that peered out from behind even bigger, round glasses. “Not exactly.”

Poor Sean. One has to feel slightly sorry for him, eh?

To be continued next week ….

Cheers for stopping by. Links to the other participants can be found HERE—you should check them out—or why not sign up and join in the fun yourself?

MARKED {INTO THE UNKNOWN} #sixsunday

Good Sunday, everyone!

Thank you, all, for visiting my blog.

If you recall last week, I left you with a snippet that showed you Sean in trouble with Jem and her reaction to his secret antics and sneaking around. This week’s sample from Marked (due out in the Into the Unknown anthology on December 1st) shows Sean’s botched attempt at dealing with Jem’s confrontation.

Here you all go; hope you enjoy (NB: bold denotes italics):

The crush of my lips swallowed her words as my groan of frustration spilled up from my throat. “It is not you, Jem.” My whispered words merged with her breaths as her sapphire pools shone before me. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

She gave a quiet gasp, drowned out by the sudden pound of her heart, and a rogue tear weaved through her lashes, escaping onto her cheek before she closed her eyes.

Um … yeah, not the best thing in the world to say to your female, Sean.

To be continued next week …

Cheers for stopping by. Links to the other participants can be found HERE—you should check them out—or why not sign up and join in the fun yourself?

INTO THE UNKNOWN GIVEAWAY!

There is an AWESOME giveaway happening today over at the blog of J. Taylor Publishing for FIVE … yes, FIVE copies of Into the Unknown.

This great anthology contains short stories by me (duh!), Aimee Laine & Jocelyn Adams, each one told from the pov of the male character in each of our debut novels (Darkness & Light, Little White Lies & The Glass Man), and is not due out until DECEMBER 1st, so winning a copy would ensure you to be one of the lucky few who READ IT FIRST!

Here’s the blurb, so you can decide if it sounds like something you’d enjoy:

Three men never expected love to wreak so much havoc in their lives.

In Marked, Darkness & Light’s Sean Holloway is on a mission—to find the perfect gift for the woman of his dreams. When all conventional choices turn out to be the wrong ones, each failed attempt convinces Sean his self-imposed task is impossible. But in the world of the Holloway Pack, anything is possible if it can be kept a secret.

In Misguided, Little White Lies’s Wyatt Moreland is hot on the trail of a wanted man when a rumor about his fiancée halts his progress. His desire to keep her safe wars with her need to be involved in his work and could derail their entire wedding unless he finds out the truth before she does.

In Tempted, The Glass Man’s Liam Kane made a promise to the fae he loves never to use his power to harm others. When a horrific event angers him, the energy boiling inside seduces him into walking a dark path. He has but one choice: resist his own nature or give up the one he loves.

Will the three men make the right choices? Or will their actions destroy their futures with the women they love?

And if you’re still not sure, why not head on over to BurningxImpossiblyxBright for a butchers at Ambur’s review and her thoughts on Into the Unknown.

So … sound like your cup of tea? What are you waiting for then? Go enter!

MARKED {INTO THE UNKNOWN} #sixsunday

Good Sunday, everyone!

Thank you all for returning to my blog each week to read my snippets.

For the last couple weeks, I’ve made it well known to you all that Sean Holloway has been up to something covert. Yes, I gathered you rather wanted to know what he’s up to but even Jem doesn’t know that much at this point, well and truly reflected in my shared sample below. From Marked, in the Into the Unknown anthology due out December 1st:

“Something bothers you, and you refuse to share. You sneak off to places with no word to me of where you’re going.” Her [Jem's] face made a slow passage back round, the glisten of her eyes exposing what her calm voice didn’t. “I see the untruth of your words in your eyes each time you answer my questions. When, Sean? When, exactly did I become unworthy of your respect? ….”

Ooops, guess Sean’s in trouble with Jem, eh?

To be continued next week …

Or if you can’t wait until then, why not call back tomorrow when I shall be promoting an early giveaway my publisher is hosting.

Cheers for stopping by. Links to the other participants can be found HERE—you should check them out—or why not sign up and join in the fun yourself?

MARKED {INTO THE UNKNOWN} #sixsunday

Good Sunday, everyone!

How lovely it is to see you all here again–and welcome to any visitors new to my blog.

For the last couple weeks, I’ve made it well known to you all that Sean Holloway has been ‘shopping’ for a certain something. Yes, I gathered you rather wanted to know what that was, but alas, I’m simply not that generous. Though this week’s sample does come from Marked, my short story due out in the Into the Unknown anthology on December 1st.

Here you all go; hope you enjoy (NB: bold denotes italics):

My nostrils twitched in my conscious effort to dissect surrounding scents and filter unwelcome ones. Because of that, the earthy waft almost went undetected.

I twisted round a little as I drew in a larger sample, my eyes narrowing when I identified it as familiar as I’d initially thought.

I should have known Dad would set a tail on me.

Brilliant.

I figured I had until nightfall, at best, before my secret plans would no longer be secret.

Yup, yup … Sean Holloway is definitely up to something.

To be continued next week …

Cheers for stopping by. Links to the other participants can be found HERE—you should check them out—or why not sign up and join in the fun yourself?

INTO THE UNKNOWN GOODNESS!

Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Do I sound excited?

I should. Because I am.

Any who have been following my 6SS posts will have had tiny little snippets tossed at them from my short story Marked.

Marked will appear in the Into the Unknown anthology, alongside Misguided by Aimee Laine (author of Little White Lies) and Tempted by Jocelyn Adams (author of the newly released The Glass Man), due for release 1^st December.

For any who have enjoyed my 6SS snippets, and new visitors alike, I have a real treat for you today.

The time has arrived to share Into the Unknown excerpts.

Yep, you heard me right.

Y’all are being given the chance at a sneak preview of what to expect when this little beauty is unleashed on the world.

For any who are totally oblivious as to what Into the Unknown could be, here is the blurb:

Three men never expected love to wreak so much havoc in their lives.

In Marked, Darkness & Light’s Sean Holloway is on a mission—to find the perfect gift for the woman of his dreams. When all conventional choices turn out to be the wrong ones, each failed attempt convinces Sean his self-imposed task is impossible. But in the world of the Holloway Pack, anything is possible if it can be kept a secret.

In Misguided, Little White Lies’s Wyatt Moreland is hot on the trail of a wanted man when a rumor about his fiancée halts his progress. His desire to keep her safe wars with her need to be involved in his work and could derail their entire wedding unless he finds out the truth before she does.

In Tempted, The Glass Man’s Liam Kane made a promise to the fae he loves never to use his power to harm others. When a horrific event angers him, the energy boiling inside seduces him into walking a dark path. He has but one choice: resist his own nature or give up the one he loves.

Will the three men make the right choices? Or will their actions destroy their futures with the women they love?

See? Mucho coolness!

So … you ready for my excerpt?

You sure?

Okay, okay, here it is, my lovelies; the opening to my short story, Marked (please note, bold denotes italics):

I had an assignment.

To find something special—preferably perfect.

To get it wrong could have catastrophic results.

To succeed, my mission had to stay a secret. I placed the chances of that happening at slim to none.

One week. One week to make my arrangements. One week to keep schtum.

Why didn’t I believe I could do it?

 ~*~*~*~

Gravel crunched underfoot as I strode across the driveway of the building site late Monday morning. To my rear loomed the apartment complex nearing exterior completion—the latest project of my family’s property development business. At the portacabin, I gave a quick glance behind myself. Once assured nobody trailed me, I tugged down the handle of the door.

I’d barely taken a step inside when I smelled her.

Jem. My mate.

Twin sapphires drew me as her face tilted up. “Hey.”

I froze on the spot, attempting to reflect the smile she sent me. “Um … hey.” I could have sworn she’d been in the showroom apartment.

In the corner, Dad turned his bulky frame, mug in hand. His bright blue eyes stared my way from beneath dark hair identical to mine and my brother’s. “What’s up?” The heavy scrutiny of my pack’s Alpha grounded me like an anchor despite the casual question.

My eyes flickered from him to Jem, back to him. “Nothing.”

I spun and walked out before he could ask anything more of me.

Shit! Now what?

Hehehehehee, poor Sean.

For Aimee’s Misguided excerpt and Jocelyn’s Tempted excerpt, simply visit their blogs (by clicking on their names up there ^).

Aaaaannnnnnnnd … on top of those? Over on the J. Taylor blog sometime today, my publisher will be hosting a MASSIVE giveaway.

MASSIVE!

From the J. Taylor blog:

{Giveaway} 4 books. 3 signed bookmarks. 1 triple-signed cover. All for YOU! Free!

Excerpts from each of our debut novelist’s entries in the Into The Unknown Anthology have posted on their respective blogs today. In honor of their releases in 2011 and the release of their combined upcoming anthology, we’re giving away ebooks of each novel AND one of Into the Unknown, signed bookmarks for each novel and a printed, signed cover for the Into the Unknown Anthology! Yes! All for 1 person.

One ebook of each of the following…

One signed bookmark like this:

And one printed signed cover of Into the Unknown!

All for YOU! Yes … YOU!

How do you get these goodies?

All you have to do is this:

Tell us why you’d want to read all three books and the anthology in the comments of this post!

Tell us why by or before Friday, October 28, 2011 at 5:00 pm ET, and you’ll have your books before the weekend begins!

This is open to International participants.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Exciting stuff, no?

So, what did you think? Did you enjoy my excerpt? Are you looking forward to Marked (and Into the Unknown)?

Psssst, don’t forget to go enter the contest! Your comments to enter must be on the J. Taylor blog post to count. Though feel free to comment hear, too.