Reading Between The Lines by Lauren Dane

Reading Between The Lines
By Lauren Dane

Publication Date: October 2, 2007

The end of a curse is the beginning of a magical love.

Celtic language expert Haley O’Brian is thrilled when she gets the chance to translate a scroll written in Ogham, an ancient Celtic text used in magic and divination. While translating the text, she unwittingly frees Conall macCormac’s Fae soul from a millennia-old curse that kept him imprisoned in a human body, lifetime after lifetime.

The end of the curse is just the beginning of the magic for Haley and the ridiculously sexy Conall. He takes her into the world of his people, the Daoine Sidhe, where she begins to learn of her own Fae heritage, carve out a new path for herself, and embrace her new-found power.

But their happiness is marred by Ninane, the jealous Fae who cursed Conall a thousand years ago. She will stop at nothing to have him for her own, including the murder of Haley’s family.

Determined to bring Ninane to justice, Haley must ask Conall to undergo the ultimate test of love—to stand aside and let her fight her own battles.

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Warning, this title contains the following: hot monkey love between people with pointy ears, graphic language, violence.

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When Haley breaks the curse surrounding Conall both their lives change forever. She discovers that much of her life has been kept secret from her, and she must come to grips with who she really is and grab a hold of her destiny. As she and Conall battle a foe unlike anything she’s ever come up against before, they must also find a way to forge a new life together.

Magic and emotion combines with riveting action to create a fantastic tale. There is a villain to really hate and a hero and heroine worth cheering for. Lauren Dane excels at this kind of story. Do yourself a favor and have plenty of time set aside when you begin this book, because you’re not going to want to stop reading once you start.

You can purchase this book starting on October 2nd from Samhain Publishing.

Thursday Thirteen #20

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Thirteen Reasons I Love Autumn!

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1. The cool, crisp days.

2. The changing colors of the leaves.

3. The pumpkins are ripening and turning up in the grocery store.

4. It's almost Halloween!

5. Thanksgiving isn't too far away.

6. The movies in the theatre are better.

7. You don't need an excuse to make soup.

8. It's time to put the flannel sheets on the bed.

9. The produce at the grocery store is fresh and colorful.

10. You can curl up with a blanket on a cool day and read a book.

11. It's time to break out the hot chocolate.

12. The days are getting shorter, but I always feel energized in the fall.

13. This is the best holiday season of the year. I mentioned Halloween and Thanksgiving, but Christmas isn't too far away either. :-)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Pillow Talk--N.J. Interview

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday!

If you have time, stop on over to Michelle Pillow's Blog and check out the interview she did with me for her Tuesday feature "Pillow Talk."

It's a fun interview that will give you some information on my upcoming Ellora's Cave book, Eternal Brothers, which is due out on October 31st!

Welcome to Autumn!

Good morning and welcome to autumn!

It's offically fall, which is my absolute favorite time of the year. I hope you all got out and enjoyed yourself yesterday.

It was a very busy and exciting weekend with the release of the Seasons of Seduction III anthology over at Ellora's Cave. The "Sunshine for a Vampire Sneak Peek contest" concluded over on my website. Congratulations to Kelly Ahrens who won a download copy of the anthology!

Keep an eye on my website as I'll have a new contest, with some special prizes, up on my website around OCTOBER 1st!

Vampires Reviewed!

The Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Seduction III anthology is now available from Ellora’s Cave Publishing in both e-book and print!

Lisa Freeman from The Romance Studio gave the anthology 4 1/2 Hearts. About my story "Sunshine for a Vampire" Ms. Freeman says:

"This author never fails to deliver an excellent story that touches your heart while heating your body!"

Blogging, Blogging Everywhere!

Good morning! I'm guest blogging at a couple of different places today. Check out my blog post on HISTORICAL FACTS AND FICTION over at the Ladies of the Club Blog .



I'm also over at Michelle Pillow's Blog today for FRIVOLOUS FRIDAY. I'll be blogging about Moon Gardens in honor of my story "Sunshine for a Vampire" in the upcoming Seasons of Seduction III anthology which releases from Ellora's Cave this coming Sunday, September 23.

Miladyinsanity is also featuring the Seasons of Seduction III anthology on her website, along with excerpts from the stories.

And if that wasn't enough, Kate Davies is featuring the Seasons of Seduction III anthology today in her BIN (Buy it now) Feature. Check it out!

Quote of the Week!

I've got two quotes this week, both of which perfectly describe the writing process!

It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly.
- C. J. Cherryh

Half my life is an act of revision.
- John Irving

Thank heavens for the revision process. This is the part of the process where a book turns from something good (or even not so good) into something absolutely wonderful and special!

Eternal Brothers--Dalakis Passion: Book 4

Just look at the gorgeous cover I just got for my upcoming Ellora's Cave release, Eternal Brothers! Syneca had outdone herself this time. I LOVE this cover!

Eternal Brothers is book 4 of the Dalakis Passion series and features the mysterious Zane York, as well as former cop, Sam Cassidy. Check out the blurb on my website for a few more details. :-)

Monday, Monday!

Welcome to another Monday. It was shocked to look at the calendar today and realize that September was already half over. Autumn is offically here in less than a week. Which of course means that the Ellora's Cavemen: Seasons of Sedcution III anthology is almost here.

The anthology, which features my story "Sunshine for a Vampire", along with fabulous stories from Lacey Alexander, Cathryn Fox, Renee Luke, Charlene Teglia and Kate Willoughby is being released this coming Sunday, September 23rd!

If you'd like a chance to win a download copy before it releases, just go to my website at http://www.njwalters.com and click on the contest page for details.

*Please note: Read the right excerpt! And you must be 18 years of age or older to enter this contest*

International Chocolate Day!

Yesterday was International Chocolate Day!

I’m a day late, but I still want to celebrate. Whether you like Hershey, Cadbury, Godiva, Ghirardelli, or Lindt, not many of us will deny the love affair we have with chocolate. The good news is that dark chocolate, my personal favorite, contains antioxidants and iron, which are both good for us.

So go out and treat yourself to a piece of good chocolate today. You’ll be glad you did!

Some interesting facts about chocolate:

*In 1849 during the “Gold Rush” of San Francisco, Dominbro Ghirardelli of Italy began making chocolate. His original factory still stands at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, CA.

*In 1875, Milk Chocolate was introduced. After over eight (8) years of experimentation, Daniel Peter of Switzerland created this concoction. He sold his creation to his neighbor, Henri Nestle, and thus Nestle Chocolate came into being.

*In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt, the founder of Lindt Chocolates, invented the process of “Conching” which is used to refine chocolate thus enhancing it’s quality.

*In 1896, the recipe for chocolate brownies, an American snack food staple, was introduced in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

*In 1907, the iconic Milk Chocolate Hershey's Kisses were introduced. They are one of the most successful chocolates and Hershey produces approximately 20-25 million per day in a variety of flavors.

*In 1939, Nestle introduced Chocolate Chips.

*Americans eat an average of twenty two (22) pounds of candy each year, or approximately 2.8 BILLION pounds annually, split almost equally between candy and chocolate. That is far less than most Europeans consume.

*The American palette prefers milk chocolate, approximately ninety two (92) percent, but dark chocolate's popularity is growing rapidly.

*American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk only surpassed by the cheese and ice cream industries. They also consume approximately 3,500,000 pounds of whole milk.

*Chocolate manufacturers currently use forty (40) % of the world's almonds and twenty (20) % of the world's peanuts.

*As of 2006, consumers spent more than $7,000,000 a year on chocolate related products.

http://www.candyfavorites.com/shop/chocolate-trivia.php

Unmasking Kelly goes to Pocket Anthology

I'm so excited!

I just got the news that my Ellora's Cave Quickie, Unmasking Kelly, is going to be part of the new EC/Pocket Book anthology series.

The Anthology, entitiled No Work, More Play, will be released on January 8th, 2008!

The three books in the upcoming anthology are:
Unmasking Kelly by N.J. Walters, Velvet Strokes by Susie Charles, and Edible Delights by Jan Springer. I'm honored to be in the anthology with these ladies.

More details as they become available.

Tagged by TJ--Meme

I was tagged by TJ Michaels to do this little Meme. I don't mind this one, because it's short. LOL

Total Number of Books I Own?

Not as many as you’d think. I own about 1000 books. I made several major moves over the years and had to dump about 90% of my books both times. Plus, I worked at a bookstore for years, so I read a lot of books that I didn’t have to buy.

Last Book I Bought:

Immortals: The Gathering by Jennifer Ashley. The final book in a four book series. I picked it up at the bookstore today. This is an awesome series. If you like paranormals, The Imortals series is a must!

Last Book I Read:

Fire and Rain by Lauren Dane. I really love Lauren’s werewolves!

Five Books That Mean A Lot To Me:

This is not an easy one.

1. God on a Harley by Joan Brady. This is a wonderful little book of fiction that really speaks to me on a spiritual level.

2. The Gift of a Year by Mira Kirshenbaum. This book inspired me to actually take a year off work. That time kick-started my writing career and changed my life.

3. Anything by Louisa May Alcott. The woman is not just writing stories for children. She wrote stories that speak to who we really are as people and she did it incredibly well.

4. A Gift from the Sea by Ann Morrow Lindbergh. As relevant now as it was when it was written in 1955.

5. I’m going to cheat and say the books on my keeper shelf. All those wonderful romances that have made me laugh and cry and sigh.

Five folks I’m gonna tag. How about Nicole Austin, Charlene Teglia, and anyone else who wants to do it. :-)

Quote of the Week!

"Do not travel far to other dusty lands, forsaking your own sitting place; if you cannot find the truth where you are, you will never find it." ~Dogen

I like this quote because it is a quiet reminder that whatever we need to understand ourselves and our lives is at our fingertips at any moment if only we take the time to look.

Have a great Tuesday!

Fire and Rain by Lauren Dane

Fire and Rain By Lauren Dane
Sequel to Ascension.

BLURB:

Rain is a waitress by day, but when not at The Black Cat she's working hard to make her art career take off. Her paintings are the center of her life until Laurent walks into her café. Suddenly she's dealing with a very alpha male pursuing her and the not-so-very-tiny detail that he happens to be a werewolf.

Laurent Cole has been the Third in command in the Cherchez Wolf Pack for decades. His life is simple, good — but he knows he's missing something, and when he claps eyes on Rain, he knows what it is.

But their coming together is complicated by the past Rain has worked so hard to keep a secret. Laurent isn't about to let anyone do his mate any harm. But the world becomes more complicated every day…

Available now from Ellora’s Cave Publishing .

Lauren Dane is well-known for her paranormal books. She has a wonderful eye for details and creates believable worlds and characters. This is the second book in her Cherchez Wolf Pack series and it lives up to Ascension, the first book in the series.

Passionate and emotional, FIRE AND RAIN is a story that will tug on your heartstrings and heat up your passions. When it comes to writing about werewolves, Lauren Dane is one of the best!

Thursday Thirteen #19

Thirteen Movies I'd like to see this Fall! 1. Shoot "Em Up! (It just looks like fun!) 2. 3:10 to Yuma! (A Western with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Need I say more?) 3. Across The Universe. (This looks like it's going to be amazing.) 4. Silk. (I'm a sucker for historical movies.) 5. The Mission. 6. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. 7. The Brave One. (Jodi Foster looking for vengeance.) 8. Eastern Promises. (Viggo Mortensen. Enough said.) 9. Elizabeth: The Golden Age. (This movie looks awesome!) 10. 30 Days of Night. (I can't resist an interesting vampire flick.) 11. We Own The Night. (Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall. Should be good.) 12. Martian Child. (Looks quirky.) 13. August Rush. That takes me to about the end of October. LOL There is still a lot more that I want to see in November and December. Hubby and I love to go to the movies. What movie are you looking forward to? Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Butterfly!

When hubby and I were on our walk this past holiday Monday, we came across this butterfly on the path.








What was really cool was when he climbed onto my hand. You can see him perched right on the ends of my fingers in this pictures. We took a bunch more pictures, but our camera doesn't take good closeups and they came out blurry.

Quote of the Week!

"No day is so bad that it can't be made better with a nap." ~Carrie Snow.

I have no idea who Carrie Snow is, but I found this quote in the Sarah Ban Brathnach book, Romancing The Ordinary. It's good advice.

And that's what I did yesterday. Not that yesterday was bad or anything. In fact, it was quite good. Hubby and I started the day with a nice long walk...I'll have a couple pictures tomorrow. After that, we just hung out together for the rest of the day. We took a nap, watched the ballgame and had a fabulous supper. It wasn't an overly exciting day, but a wonderfully relaxing one.

Hope all of you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend, and found time to relax, or maybe even take a nap.

Awakening Desires Newsletter!

Just a reminder that the September issue of the Awakening Desires Newsletter is now available.

This months issue contains all the latest news and contest information, as well as an excerpt and all the usual features. Also, the amazing award-winning author Michelle Pillow stopped by to chat.

As always, for more information on any of my books, check out my website .