Latest E-Books Reviewed

For more info, visit InD'Tale Magazine. You can get your first month free for a limited time! They review romance novels (my favorite and how I found them). They review Contemporary, Historical, Mysteries, Fantasy, Paranormal, Suspense/Thriller, and Inspirational Romances.
Authors---they have put out a call for more e-published mysteries, historical, paranormal and fantasies to review...so awesome opportunity!
Hey, and I found out what my favorite cover model likes to do to relax here (under staff)... You gotta go check it out! (Jimmy, I'm a fan...)

Never Without Hope - Sizzling Kiss

Excerpt used by permisssion of Author, Michelle Sutton
http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com/

“I love you.” he whispered, then touched my cheek.

Opening my eyes, I took in the warm, inviting expression on his face. For once I didn’t cry at the sound of those precious words. “I love you, too.”

James lowered his lips to mine, and though he didn’t linger, I thought I’d die from the joy flooding my soul. His kiss contained strength and desire. And I’d needed hope—to know he still longed for me, too. I nodded at the bags on my lap. “Thank you—for everything.”

James nodded, a sly grin forming on his lips, like he was pleased with himself.



You can buy Never Without Hope HERE http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/098258704X?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=098258704X&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

How to write a Sizzling Kiss

Okay, the first kiss is the one we want to nail as authors. So how do you write a Sizzling one? Remember the five don'ts and the six do's. We'll start with the don'ts.

Don't spring the kiss on the reader without just cause.

Don't expect your reader to fall in love if you haven't.

Don't neglect your senses.

Don't let it be just a "They kissed."

Don't tell us, the readers that it was sensuous, show us.

The Do's don't list isn't like the Don'ts (Don't you hate me now!) lol

They run more like: Stay in one character's head (or body in this case).

Show us what your character sees.

Describe the smells that surround this moment.

What sounds reverberate around the couple?

How does the kiss taste?

What does the character feel or how does he/she feel?

Notice the underlined words. These are our senses. These are your tools to create that Sizzle. A truly Sizzling kiss uses at least three of the five at least five times. (Yes, when I'm drawing my scenes I count them… the key here is that the reader wants to experience that kiss so you want it to last. Think at least a good paragraph and when you get really good two pages… (I'm not at that point yet.)

Let's use a generic kiss.

Kate kissed Jeremy.

…….Boring….

Note that we said Kate first, so it is her point of view, not Jeremy's.

What does Kate see? The golden flecks in Jeremy's brown eyes.

What does Kate smell? Jeremy's musky cologne.

What does Kate hear (this goes with sounds)? The birds gentle lilt in the trees overhead.

What does Kate taste? Maybe the beer on his breath---ick. Jeremy tastes smooth, like special dark chocolate.

What does Kate feel? Most commonly ? Jeremy's hard muscles.

What about the emotion Kate feels? Kate feels her desire.

Before you scroll down, I encourage you to write these five things into your scene. I promise that there will be as many unique scenes written as there are individuals that write them. Our job as writers/authors is to draw one scene, colored though it may be by the reader's personal experience.

Now, before we see what yours truly draws for Kate's scene, let's find out what Jeremy's scene might look like.

Remember: Jeremy kissed Kate.

For a guy that might be enough, but not the romance reader… they want more and the more you give them, the more they will want to come back for more.

What did Jeremy see? Careful, guys attention is not always the same as a woman's. Be sure you stay true to the character - male in this case. Jeremy saw her curves and the firm plumpness of her lips.

What did Jeremy smell? Jeremy smelled her perfume, the clean freshness washed by the rain, the tantalizing scent of his Harley's leather.

What did Jeremy hear? The roaring of Harleys in the distance, her breathing and soft sighs.

What did Jeremy taste? Okay here is where we need what the character says in Golden Eye (James Bond)? She tastes like sweet strawberries.-- Jeremy tastes the sweet strawberries on her lips.

What does Jeremy feel? Remember external and internal. External - The warmth of the sun's rays. Internal - his heart beat speed up and if you feel real daring the pressure below his belt. Be careful on that last one! It can throw your kiss to the erotica real fast.

Now, we have left Kate long enough but remember you can only submit this, or write it from one point of view. For your writing, there is only this rule.

Use at least three senses, five times. Easy. I personally like to start with what surrounds the character and focus the reader's lens tighter as the scene evolves. So to do that, let's shuffle the senses to: sounds, smell, external feeling, sight, taste, Internal feeling. Notice that I separated what the character feels.

Kate Kissed Jeremy.

The birds continued their gentle lilt in the trees overhead. ---sound---

Kate breathed deep, trying to catch her breath, catching the gentle musky aroma of Jeremy's cologne, unique and all male. ---smell---with a touch of feeling in her breath.

She leaned into him, feeling the solid muscle of his chest. ---external feeling---

He lifted her chin and her gaze focused on the golden flecks in his brown eyes, so warm and inviting. The message in them tilted from the humor of the previous moment to the heat of this one. ---sight--- with a touch of more feeling and a bit of background.

He smiled as if daring her to make good on her threat. ---more sight---

Unwilling to back down to this dangerous man, she skittered her hands to his broad shoulders and reached for his lips with her own. She only intended to give him a quick peck, but one taste of the smooth dark chocolate of his mouth and her knees buckled. ---taste--- feeling, both external and internal as we draw the reader's lens tighter.

Her desire bolted to new heights, his challenge winning over her own. ---inner feeling---

We learned a whole lot about this scene with the showing. Let's see what we can learn if the scene is written from Jeremy's point of view. Again, let's start with the setting somewhat and focus the lens tighter with each sentence.

The other Harley's roared in the distance, leaving them alone as the sun broke through the clouds, warming the small forest clearing. ---sound---and sight--

Jeremy smiled, letting his eyes linger over her curves. Appreciating each one, he focused on the plump, scarlet firmness of her lips. --sight---we added a bit, didn't we?

The rain had stopped, and for the first time he noticed the delicate bouquet of her perfume, floral yet hinting of berries. Rather than distracting from the warm animalistic smell of leather, her scent danced and entwined with it. --smell--

Her chest rose and fell as if she might dart away. Instead of bolting, she leaned into him, lacing her hands to his shoulders. She paused, driving him wild with anticipation. His heart pounded in his chest. He stepped closer, pinning her against his Harley. --sight, internal feeling, touch--

She'd cave. It was only a joke to her, but not to him. If she didn't make good on her challenge, he would be sure to make good on his own. Her kiss started soft, but he couldn't let it stop there. Her lips tasted like strawberries from the lip-gloss she wore. He devoured it and her mouth. She answered with kisses of her own and infuriatingly sensual sighs. ---touch, taste, sound--

His own body's reaction caught him off-guard, she leaned into him so innocent, so trusting. He let her, sensing his heart pound, skip, an engine in need of tuning all the while feeling his pressure build below his belt. --internal feeling--

The wise writer will walk away here unless they intend to step over the erotic lines.

Which one is better? That depends on the detail needed for the story. Maybe you, the writer need to remind the reader of Kate's challenge to Jeremy or maybe you, the writer, need to tell us that the other characters have left the scene. The key goes back to the Don’t's. Don't spring the kiss on the reader without just cause. Don't expect your reader to fall in love if you haven't. Don't neglect your senses. Don't let it be just a "They kissed." Don't tell us, the readers, that it was sensuous, show us.

Stay in one character's head (or body in this case). Show us what your character sees. Describe the smells that surround this moment. What sounds reverberate around the couple? How does the kiss taste? What does the character feel or how does he/she feel?

You can master the Sizzling Kiss! Now I expect awesome kisses for July…

Announcing - The Sizzling Summer Contest

Sending out a personal invite to readers everywhere.

Announcing "The Sizzling Summer Contest".
The contest will run July 1st through July 31st.
Voting (by readers) will open July 29th and run through August 4th.

Have you got a kiss you'd like to share? Have you got what it takes to write a Sizzling Kiss?
You are invited to participate in sharing your best Sizzling Kiss.

1) Submit your "Sizzling Kiss" as an attachment to shassidy@comcast.net between July 1 and July 31. (Yes, I'm giving you time to polish that kiss.)
2) Include "Sizzling Kiss" in the subject line of your email.
3) Your kiss must be between 100 and 500 words.
4) Sign your kiss with your first name and your blog address/link.
    Limit: one entry per blog addy.

I am looking for at least ten (10) submissions/entries. If I get at least that many, there will be a prize awarded in addition to having your "Sizzling Kiss" posted here (with your name). The winner will receive a romantic suspense E-book, Dark Days of Promise by yours truly, due to be released in September.

Don't be shy. Now remember, this is just a kiss, not a bedroom scene. No erotica, I'm not allowed to post such so keep it sweetly warm and borderline sensual. Erotica will be disqualified. Published work cannot be submitted for contest.

Now remember, we have several examples of kisses already posted here. You are welcome to go back and read them. I will also be posting several more as well as helps to writing a kiss that SIZZLES.

Remember, the dead line is July 31st. Send your submission, limited to a single scene to shassidy@comcast.net as an attachment. I must have at least 10 entries. All entries (except those that are erotic) will be posted here for voting the end of July and first of August. You must be a follower of this blog to vote and your vote/comment must be signed to match your follower tag.

Note to published authors-- Maybe one of our esteemed published authors, whose Sizzling Kisses will be shared over the next two months will volunteer a copy of their book from which the kiss is from --- (hint, hint).

Historical Romance Kiss

Excerpt from Daughters of Jared by H.B. Moore, published by Covenant Communications, 2012



Levi moved closer until I could look nowhere else but into his eyes. “I told you how I feel about you.”

“You asked me to marry you.” I tried to keep my voice steady, despite his nearness and despite my erratic pulse. “Then you asked me to give up my gods.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “You never told me how you felt.”

Both his hands cradled my face.

He closed the distance before I could take a breath. His lips pressed against mine lightly, hesitantly. My hands went to his chest; warmth radiated from his skin through his shirt. My touch encouraged him, and his kiss became more possessive as he pulled me into his arms, wrapping me in his security. For a moment, I believed that nothing could touch us, nothing could harm either of us. He slowly kissed my cheek, my eyelids, my neck. A torture of a new kind.

Then he pulled away, his hands resting on my shoulders. He stared at me with an intensity I’d not seen before. “I love you, Naiva. You must know you’re in my every thought, my every breath.”

It took everything I had to not fall into his arms and be swept away into our own world. I tentatively ran my hands along his chest, down his arms, absorbing his words.

I wanted to tell him the same thing—to confess my heart—but I was afraid I wasn’t who he thought I was. Nor could I ever be.

“If your brother finds out, he’ll kill both of us.”

*************

Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Jared-H-B-Moore/dp/160861395X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336483382&sr=8-2

Author Website: http://www.hbmoore.com/

Sizzling Kiss

Phoenix Rising Book One: Janus
By: Gail Delaney

Her eyes pinched and her lips drew together in concentration.

The rod tilted, angling sharply toward her hand and she pulled back.

"No, you've got it," he urged. "Don't let go."

She steadied her hand again and the rod leveled, the pull away from him growing stronger. John slowly let go his hold, and the rod held its position. John smiled and withdrew his hand. Her eyes only shifted for a second, noting his withdrawal, before she focused again on the metal.

"Yes," John proclaimed, trying not to let his pride overwhelm his voice and break her concentration. "You've done it, Jenifer. You've done it!"

She looked up and dropped her hand, the rod clattering to the floor, and the smile on her lips was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He'd thought the smile when she saw the wormhole had been amazing, but this smile... this smile topped it with ease. John threw out his arms and laughed. He lifted her feet off the ground and turned them one-hundred-eighty degrees, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I knew you could do it!"

She wobbled a bit when he set her down, so he kept his hands at her sides. He knew he grinned like a fool, but despite the destruction around them and the bruises he knew he'd have tomorrow, he couldn't have been more proud of her. Of anyone.

"My head is killing me," she said softly, and John winced.

"I'm sorry. It might for a bit, but it'll get better. I promise."

Jenifer lifted her head and looked at him, her cheeks a little too pale for his liking but her eyes no longer looked haunted. "If you say so."

John took his hands from her sides to hold his palms against her cheeks and kissed her brow. She curled her hands around his wrists in a weak hold and leaned into him. John rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed.

"I am so proud of you."

She leaned back, breaking the contact, but didn't move away, her gaze shifting in tiny degrees as she stared up at him. John opened his eyes and looked down at her, his chest hitching at the shine in her eyes. He swallowed and took in the fine details of her face.

"You amaze me, Jenifer," he said softly, his voice needing to carry no further than her ears.

He intended for the kiss to just be a touch to her lips, a symbol to her how precious she was to him despite the bruises and split lip she'd left him with. She'd fought through more than he wanted or could imagine. He held his lips to hers, not asking for anything more than to allow him the chance to somehow show her, and when he pulled away he smiled.

Her light eyes shifted from meeting his gaze, to what he knew was a split lip, and back to his eyes. The air shifted, and his heart immediately pounded hard and needy in his chest. Jenifer released his wrists and laced her fingers into his damp hair, pulling him down to her again.

She kissed him hard, stealing whatever moment he had to prepare for the demanding intensity. His lip stung, and the salty taste of dried tears mingled with the slight copper tinge of blood but he could no more stop the kiss than he could push her away. Open mouths fought for dominance in the kiss, her deep, throaty purr mingling with his groan. Need flashed hard and hot through him, fueled by her own wrapping around them both. His traitorous body wanted her, demanding, pounding, pushing him to take more.

They turned together, neither leading, neither following, until her back hit the wall and he lifted the back of her knees to draw her legs around his waist. The position minutes before had driven her to break through her walls, had been vicious and hard, but now his only thought was the feel of her body wrapped around him.

John pressed his palms to the wall on either side of her body, holding her in place with the pressure of his hips. Her pulse throbbed against his lips when he nipped and kissed the salty skin along her throat, her head tossed back against the wall. Eager hands tugged at his clothes, and with a flash of clarity, John groaned in frustration and dropped his forehead to her shoulder, sucking in deep, hard breaths.

"No' here," John said against her skin, letting his lips brush the warmth. He still kissed her throat to her ear, unwilling yet to give up the contact. "No' in this chaos."

"One place is as good as another," she said in a throaty voice, taking his face in her hands. "Come on, Ambassador. I know you want it."

A bucket of ice water couldn't have quelled his desire any faster than the rasped sound of his title, not his name. She tried to draw him in for another kiss, and he allowed the contact, but refused to deepen it. Passion turned to a dull ache when he stepped back and eased her to the floor again.

"I want you," he said, swallowing hard as her feet met the floor again. "There's a difference."

She scowled, the light he thought he might have awakened in her eyes gone in a blink. John fought to temper his breathing again and looked down. Her hands hung at her side, no longer reaching for him. He inhaled slowly and reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. She didn't comply, but didn't pull away either.

"Come on," he said, hearing the weight in his own voice. "You should rest, and I have some explainin' to do to the captain."

Jenifer tried to pull her hand free, but he tightened his hold a tiny degree and she stopped. She could have easily stepped free and he wouldn't have stopped her, but he wanted her to know he wished she didn't. "I can clean up my own messes, Ambassador."

John raised his head and looked into her eyes. "Perhaps you can, but you don't have to."

He stepped away and started for the door, thankful Jenifer followed, her hand still in his.

Release date is today, May 21st!

Here’s the DBP site link.

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-297/Phoenix-Rising-Book-One-cln-/Detail.bok

Sunday Sizzle

First Impressions
Excerpt published by permission of the author, Michelle Sutton. http://edgyinspirationalauthor.blogspot.com/


Licking her lips as she watched him, she then closed her eyes and swallowed.

That action was all he needed to push him over the edge. He needed to taste her again or he'd go mad just thinking about doing it. Setting his bowl on the counter, he gently grabbed her arms and lowered his mouth to hers. She responded more fervently than he'd anticipated as their cool, sweet tongues engaged. The sensual kiss made his head swim with pleasure.

He moaned. Everything in him tensed and heated as they explored each other like two hungry singles deprived of affection for far too long. He sensed her arm moving and wondered what she intended to do with her hand. He was eager to find out and made a move of his own.

A crash made him jump back.

"Oops. I missed the counter." She giggled.


You can buy First Impressions HERE http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-53/%3Ci%3ETombstone-Treasures-Book-One-cln-%3C-fdsh-i%3E/Detail.bok

(paperback also available on this page. Click the purchase on CreateSpace link to get a hard copy of this book)