Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Seduction Is Thy Name

Please join me in welcoming a special guest, my EP sister Kasanna, to the Vampire Scribe.  Kasanna has a new book out this month, entitled, Whip Me Real Good.  Today, Kassana is talking about the topic of being seduced by a good book.








Imagine, sitting alone at the table, resting with your back against the headboard in your comfortable bed or even lying in a tub full of warm water while inhaling the scent of jasmine, with a good book or your e-reader. The story is so engaging, instead of putting the tale down; you turn to the next page.
Everyday life tries to invade. The cat needs to go to the vet, the kid needs to go the store (something about a project due tomorrow).  And still you have a hard time putting down that book. You do it but you grumble and look longingly the tome you must put momentarily put away.  You don’t have to admit this, after all this isn’t an intervention. But I believe that if you have a love of books like I do it probably happens at least once a day to someone out there.
My friends, we have been seduced by books.
Like an old lover or new lover as the case may be, I’m attentive, reading each page, sometimes going over a section twice to make sure I didn’t miss anything.  Carefully fingering the pages as not to mar the delicate paper or in the case of e-readers buying those pretty covers to protect the “precious” from harm. I have cried and laughed with the hero or heroine. Second guessed their decisions and screamed at them not to turn the corner while immersed in the realm that the author created.  I have even been so mad at a character I put the book down only to retrieve it moments later to find out what happened.
A good story was my reason for becoming a writer.
I wanted to weave amazing tales that enticed the reader. Create a book that you could not put down until the very last page had been turned. Something so exceptional that you, the reader, would regret having to view the words “The End” typed at the bottom of the page. My ultimate goal is to make the world of my creation come alive for you by engaging your sense of sight, sound, taste, touch and smell using only the prose I put on paper.
Silly as it sounds I hope to one day seduce you with my books.
That being said, I hope you enjoyed my take on novels for pleasure and will stand proudly with me as I say, “Yes I have been seduced by books and I liked it!”

Happy reading my friends.


XOXOXO

Kassanna


Bonus Material - Here's a blurb from her latest release, Whip Me Real Good, available from Evernight Publishing here:  http://www.evernightpublishing.com/whip-me-real-good-by-kassanna/




What do you do when an unexpected party shows you an unexpected lifestyle... and you like it.

Mattie couldn't believe her luck... Not only had the Lexington Corporation agreed to fund her grant for the small organization she'd founded for abused women but she'd also received a complimentary ticket to the years hottest affair. Every year the Erotic Exotic Event was held and the who's who in society always made it a point of showing their faces at the exclusive party. Mattie's pleasure was two fold. This was her chance to come out of her shell to have some fun and thank the man that had personally chosen her little charity.

She had no clue what she was in for.

John ran Lexington Corp like the well oiled machine it was, however Club Lexx was his baby and his home if you counted his apartment above the dance hall. He was a strong believer of giving back to the community which is why he chose a non-profit entity to support every year. What he didn't expect was the latte beauty that looked like a librarian, but moved like a stripper, to come bounding through the clubs gold doors. She blew into the club like a whirlwind and turned his night inside out. Too bad he could never seem to get her to himself for more than a few minutes thanks to a comedy of mishaps that left him wanting her badly. Hoping for an opportunity to get her alone he took the chance when it arose.

That's when things really start to heat up.




Monday, February 20, 2012

New Teaser for my WIP

Hello Lovelies and Lads,

I thought I would give you a scrumptious sample of my latest WIP, tentatively titled Blood of the Nile. It's a steamy erotic vampire novel set in picturesque Egyptian desert.  I've also attached a sexy, new photo from my recent photo shoot for your viewing pleasure. If either of these make you drool, feel free to leave me a comment and I may reward you with more juicy tidbits. :P







Excerpt - Blood of the Nile



     The shirtless stranger raised his palms in a defensive stance. “I know. I’m sorry. But I promise, I’m not a serial killer. My name is Ramses. Ramses Shakir. I’m a friend of your father’s.”

     Maliyah placed her hands on her hips, then squinted her eyes and cocked her head to the side. “Shakir? As in Shakir Shipping?”

     “Yes, we met once before. But you were but a child. You may not remember.”

     “I remember. Vaguely,” she said nonchalantly. Boy did she remember. Even back then, Mr. Shakir as she called him, was an Egyptian god. With broad, muscular shoulders and dark, brooding good looks, how could she forget? Surprisingly, he’d only gotten better with age. Like Anubis, his sharp features and mysterious midnight-colored hair and eyes stood out, stopping women in their tracks. An arousing anomaly. Any girl with the gift of sight instantly recognized his virile masculinity and dreamt of claiming him as her mate. “Why are you following me?”

     Ramses scrubbed his hand over his unshaven face; his eyes pierced her with a somber glare. “What the hell are you doing out here alone? Don’t you watch the news? Surely, you must have heard about the female reporter that was brutally raped and terrorized by a group of overzealous Egyptian youths?”

     Maliyah turned away from him, peering out into the calm waters of the Nile. She drew upon its peaceful serenity to try and settle her nerves. She was annoyed at Ramses for stalking her. In fact, she didn’t even know if she could trust him after what Husani had told her. After all, he was one of her father’s business associates. But Ramses was right about one thing. The dark, seedy streets of Cairo were no place for a woman. Especially a foreigner in Maliyah’s unstable state of mind.


     Still, the urge to goad Ramses into a fight overruled common sense. She licked her lips and smiled up at him through her half-mast gaze. “How do I know you aren’t one of those overzealous youths? What do you want with me, Mr. Shakir?”

     Ramses pounced on her like a feral desert jackal, his rough hands jerking her shoulders back against the cool stone rock she’d been perched on only minutes before. He leaned in, his heated breath rolled across her neck and down the slender column of her throat until goose bumps formed. She could have sworn she felt his sharp, serrated tooth graze against her prickly skin.

“I’m here to keep you safe. Don’t ask me what I want from you, Maliyah. You may not like my answer.” Ramses’s fingers dug into her upper arms, while his hulking frame pressed into Maliyah’s demure feminine curves. She felt his erection thrust against her pelvic bone, thick and just as hard as the stone that rested against her spine. Her nipples beaded, poking through the thin material of her tank top to rub against Ramses’s bare pectoral muscles. He must have sensed her heightened arousal because a moment later, he reached down, caressing her clitoris through the fabric of her yoga pants. Maliyah moaned, as a trickle of liquid dampened her clothing and doused his fingers with her juices.

Before Ramses could distract her any further, Maliyah pulled his hand away and stared into his swirling, obsidian orbs. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. Light-headed as if she could no longer stand on her own two feet. She propped herself on the rock and stared back at Ramses. Provocative and defiant. “Sounds like an interesting proposition. But there are more important things I’d like to discuss with you first.”

“Like what?”

“Like what happened to my father?” Maliyah said as she skidded away from the edge of the rock and paced across the sand. She wrung her hands together nervously, dreading his response.

Ramses eyes shot open, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. “So you too, have doubts about his presumed cause of death?”

     “I do. At first, I had no choice but to believe the initial explanation. But the more I think about it, the more preposterous it seems. A heart attack? Really?” It was true. Once her cousins, Salma and Husani, brought up the possibility of foul play, Maliyah just couldn’t imagine her health-conscious father suffering a sudden heart ailment. It didn’t make any sense. No wonder she couldn’t get any rest. It was near dawn, and she hadn’t slept a wink.

“The sun’s almost up. Come on, let’s get you home. I’ll hail a cab and we can talk shop on the way.”

Once Ramses flagged down a taxi driver, they hopped in and drove off. As the car rolled down the deserted streets, an awkward silence fell over them. The thick, unspoken attraction between the two of them was undeniable. Maliyah cleared her throat, but before she could speak, Ramses broke the monotony.

“That song you were singing on the rock. It was hauntingly beautiful. What was it?”

“Just a children’s lullaby,” Maliyah said, shrugging her shoulders. “Something my father used to sing to me.”

Ramses shot her a wicked grin. “You know, he loved you very much. You’re all he could ever talk about,” he said, rolling his eyes. Mimicking Anwar’s deep baritone voice, he provoked her even more. “Maliyah graduated from Yale. She’s got this great new job in Italy. She’s a fantastic cook. Blah. Blah. Blah.”

So he’s got a sense of humor, huh? Maliyah always enjoyed a man with the ability to make her laugh. “Funny, he never mentioned you,” she replied, ribbing him with the same sardonic banter.

“I’m not surprised. I’ve got a bit of a reputation with the ladies and knowing Anwar, he’d want to keep his daughter far away from the likes of me.”

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Vampires on Valentine's Day Contest




Here's a teaser from my vampire novel, Irresistible Nemesis, from Evernight Publishing. Don't forget to comment with your email address for a chance to win a copy of the book.




        Restlessness started to take its toll on him. Instead of
bothering with the long, monotonous drive home to Connecticut,
Andreas strolled along one of the many wooded paths in Central Park
on his way back to his apartment on Madison Avenue. He needed to
clear his head. He’d been overly distracted as of late. It was beginning
to show. Even Natasha had noticed.


        Andreas enjoyed this communion with nature often. He
walked this same path through the wooded park almost every day on
the way to his apartment on the Upper East Side. Nowadays, he
stayed there more times than not. Even more so on nights like this
when thoughts preoccupied his mind. He’d do anything not to have to
face his father. The man had an uncanny ability to see through him,
all the way to his soul.


        Finally, he came to a familiar park bench and sat down. He
perched himself in the very same spot a million times before. It was
one of his favorite places. It provided him with the private serenity he
needed to do what he does best. After all, he was a vampire. Preying
on helpless victims, preferably of the female persuasion, was his
birthright.

       
        Andreas leaned back on the bench and took in the sights and
sounds around him. Birds chirped in trees and leaves rustled as small
animals scurried across the ground. A cool breeze drifted lightly over
his skin, while the fragrant aromas of nature invaded his senses. The
night seemed calm and peaceful. He felt compelled to close his eyes
and relax, taking in the intoxicating scent of gardenias that must be
planted nearby. He always loved the scent of gardenias. Then
suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge. He wasn’t
alone.


        “Who’s…” he started to ask. Before the words could fully
escape him, Andreas flipped backwards over the back of the bench.
His body landed with a force strong enough to break several bones. A
sudden burst of pain screamed through him. But all he could do was
stare up at the woman straddled on top of him, holding a dagger
firmly to his throat.


        Andreas flexed his fingers. The need to flip his opponent on
her back and take control of her was high on his list of priorities. The
first item on his agenda, fuck her brains out. Only after he satisfied his
sexual desires, would he take her blood. Then, he saw the blade inch
forward ever-so-slight, puncturing the skin. Warm liquid drizzled in a
slow, intricate pattern down his neck and over his shoulder blade.
Blood.


        “God damn woman, it’s a good thing I heal quickly.” Andreas
forced the words out between clenched teeth. He shrugged his
shoulders and shook off the pain.


        The goddess glared back at him, eminent contempt reflected in
her mesmerizing gaze. “Any last words, bloodsucker?” The words
spewed out of her, as if a venomous elixir pinned him to the floor.
She shifted her weight above him and positioned herself more
securely over his finely-honed torso, no doubt feeling the press of his
thick erection against her buttocks. That one rookie mistake gave
Andreas the edge he needed and soon, he had her body flailing
through the air. She landed butt-first on the cold, damp floor along the
edge of the trail. However, Andreas didn’t give her time to retaliate.


        No sooner had she hit the ground before he attacked using all the
natural predatory instincts he’d been born with. His cool hands
snatched up both of her wrists, shoving them roughly above her head
into a very vulnerable position. But truth be told, Andreas felt more
like prey than predator ensnared in an assassin’s seductive web.
He balanced on one knee. His free hand reached down and
clenched the leather bolero jacket she wore with a tight, restraining
fist. He jerked her body up against him in one swift motion that left
her gasping for air. With their faces just inches apart, he gazed into
her eyes, peering through the swirling Bermuda Triangle of her
pupils.
 

        Hmm. No Reaction. Interesting. Andreas was used to women
falling at his feet, succumbing to his potent power of persuasion. Yet
the gorgeous creature didn’t even flinch when he turned on the charm
in full force. She seemed completely immune to him. The only inkling
of hope, the melodic beat of her heart as blood pumped through her
veins.

****

        Their close proximity had repercussions on Eva as well. The
first clue was the thunderous beating of her heart echoing in her ears.
That simple, unconscious response ignited a chain reaction of other
bodily functions to ignite like rapid fire one after another. Sweat
formed in the valley between her breasts and at the tip of her spine.
Her nipples peaked into flushed, red rosebuds. Her entire body
thrummed, singing at a frequency only the two of them could discern.


        They stood motionless and stared into each other’s eyes for
what seemed like an eternity without so much as breathing. Neither of
them said a word, unwilling to acknowledge the significance of their
little exchange. It was as if time stopped. The pad of Andreas’s index
finger slowly glided over the inside of Eva’s wrist. She jerked away.
But the innocent brush of skin-to-skin contact had her senses reeling.


        “Are you afraid of me?” Andreas leaned down and whispered
seductively in her ear, making her shiver. He took a deep breath, so
close he was sure to inhale her scent. The combination of his sultry
voice and heated breath gently caressed the nerve endings along
already-warm skin. It was too much to bear. The heat of it traveled all
the way up and down the length of her body on its own accord, and
settled itself at the junction between her legs. It set off an explosion of
epic proportions and caused her clitoris to literally vibrate with need.


        The blood normally residing in Eva’s brain stimulated an
entirely different part of her body. “No, Andreas. I’m not afraid of
you,” she answered, as she rolled her shoulders back and straightened
her posture in a show of defiance.


        “You know who am I? Isn’t it fair that I know the name of the
lady who broke into my office, and so obviously has me at full
attention?” His eyes darted to the very evident bulge protruding from
the tight leather pants he wore.


        Slowly, the fist holding onto the fabric of her jacket
relinquished its grip on her. Then Andreas’s talented fingers moved
and delved below the edge of the lacy black chemise she wore
underneath. He moaned out loud, touching her no doubt turned
Andreas on. The irises of his hypnotic green eyes changed like a
chameleon to a bright red. The color of fresh blood. Eva shook her
head, and jostled her brain as she suddenly remembered who and
what stood before her.


        “My name is Eva. Eva Sambucco.” She batted her lashes at
him innocently, just before she swung the spiked heel of her three-inch
boot up that slammed right into the indentation of his chin. His
body was thrown back several feet across the path. Those Muay Thai
classes sure do come in handy.


        A gaping wound oozed blood down his chest and stained his
pristine-white shirt, much more pronounced than the tiny knick she’d
inflicted earlier. Andreas flew at her with preternatural speed. But she
was too fast. She stepped out of his path before and threw a handful of
powerful punches. He ducked, purposely dodging her blows in an
attempt to avoid any hand-to-hand contact.


        The fucking coward refuses to fight back. With renewed anger,
she kicked at him and nearly succeeded at wrestling him down to the
ground again. They battle waged on for several minutes. It only
managed to frustrate Eva all the more. He was good. Almost too
good.


        Andreas’s defensive stance stopped her from inflicting any
serious damage. Still, twinges of soreness erupted all over her body as
bruises started to form. His chin continued to bleed, splattering like
paint on the trail. Eva panted desperately for air. But she stood her
ground and refused to accept defeat. She had a sneaking suspicion,
neither would he.


        Andreas moved first, inching toward her. A jaguar stalking its
prey. “You don’t have any intention of killing me, Eva. I’d love to
play with you like this all night long.” He purred in her ear and let her
name roll off of his tongue seductively. “But the sun’s coming up
soon. And believe me when I tell you, my dear, I am not a handsome
man when I get a sunburn. We’ll have to continue our little game
another time.” With that, Andreas Kristopolous blew her a kiss and
high tailed it out of there in the opposite direction.


        A bit shell-shocked, Eva allowed him to walk away without a
fight. She needed some time to re-think her strategy when it came to
this particular vampire. Andreas was right about one thing though.
Victory wasn’t the ultimate goal. It was all about the game, and Eva
enjoyed toying with him as much as he did.


        I’ll eventually have to kill the bastard. But it’s going to be a
whole hell of a lot of fun torturing him first. Eva bit down on her
bottom lip and groaned. And sometimes, pleasure can be almost as
excruciating as pain.



Irresistible Nemesis Buy Links








Sunday, February 5, 2012

Year of Entrepreneurship

Welcome me in celebrating the Year of Entrepreneurship!


Last night, one of my good friends, threw a fabulous shinding at Sanctuate!, a fabulous new massage experience here in San Diego. We were celebrating a myriad of new business opportunities for some of our fabulous friends and family.

Cheers to this dynamic group of ladies:



Karima Zaki  - owner of Sanctuate!   

website:   http://www.sanctuate.com/





Annalynne Russo - author of Irresistible Nemesis and Rendezvous with Rumpelstiltskin

website:  http://www.vampirescribe.com/







Photos from the Event