Today and Tomorrow and then…MARKED is officially out! Stay tuned because I *may* be giving away copies of the book here to some lucky commenters. You just never know…
In the meantime…keep entering:
(FYI: I’m going to be reposting the contest rules every day, so if you just want to skim to the bottom to see the new daily questions…go for it.)
For those of you new to the contest, here are the official deets:
Okay, this is how the contest is going to work: Each day from now until April 26th, I’ll be posting at least two questions for you to answer. Post your answer to THE DAY’S QUESTIONS in the comment section of that day’s post.You have to answer ALL QUESTIONS to be entered. And the really cool part? I’ll be choosing AT LEAST two winners per day as well.
Winners will get to choose their prize from the list below:
Erin Kellison - Arc of Shadow Bound – Won by Amy (Day 1 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey – 1st combo won by Colleen (Day 1 winner) Nina Pierce - Promo pack of goodies - won by Stacey (Day 2 winner) Anita Clenney - $15 Borders Gift Certificate - won by Donna S (Day 2 winner) Helen Scott Taylor - The Phoenix Charm – won by Pam P. (Day 3 winner) Larissa Ione - Desire Unchained- won by Delitealex (Day 3 winner) Vivi Anna - The Vampire’s Quest – won by Karin (Day 3 winner) Juliana Stone - His Darkest Hunger- won by Christie (Day 4 winner) Vivi Andrews - The Sexorcist – won by Joder (Day 4 winner) Lucy Monroe - Moon Craving – won by Julie (Day 4 winner) Annette McCleave - Bound By Darkness – won by Melissa (Day 5 Winner) Alix Rickloff - Dangerous as Sin – won by Cybercliper (Day 5 winner) Jess Granger - Beyond the Rain – won by Sue A. (Day 5 winner) Joan Swan - Custom 1.0L SIGG water bottle – won by Jane C. (Day 6 winner) Donna Grant - Dangerous Highlander – won by Missy B (Day 6 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey Combo – won by Phyllis (Day 6 winner) Barbara Monajem - Sunrise in the Garden of Love & Evil – won by Arantza (Day 6 winner) Denise Agnew - Dark Fire – won by Veronica (Day 7 winner) Heather Davis - Never Cry Werewolf – won by Jessica P (Day 7 Winner) Catherine Anne Collins - A Witch’s Lament – won by Eszter (Day 7 winner)
Once a prize is chosen, it gets crossed off the list, so pay close attention to what gets claimed so you have your 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices mapped out.
That’s it. Super easy. I ask, you answer, YOU WIN!
(Winners will be chosen at random, must be 18 yrs old to participate, yadda yadda yadda. Winners will be contacted by email, when a prize is chosen, it’s crossed off the list and the winner’s name is listed next to their prize.)
Also, don’t forget part two of my awesome contest. I have THREE $25 gift cards to the bookstore of your choice to give away. To enter this portion of the contest, simply email me at elisabeth@elisabethnaughton.com to tell me where you posted about either this contest or the release of MARKED. Simply put “MARKED Release Contest” in the subject line of your email. (If you post the above MARKED widget or book cover somewhere you get entered twice!). You can enter as many times as you like. The more times/places you talk up MARKED, the more chances you have to win.
Got it?
Let’s keep going…
***
Okay…DAY NINE QUESTIONS: (FYI: the number of questions equals the number of prizes being given out that day. And if you haven’t already figured it out, question one will ALWAYS have something to do with Greek mythology.)
1) Greek mythology is filled with some strange and amazing creatures. Which one fascinates you the most?
2) Author Vivi Anna’s writes about soemthing called the Valorian Chronicles. What is this?
3) What was the name of Melina Morel’s first paranormal novel?
Three days left and still so many great prizes to win!
(FYI: I’m going to be reposting the contest rules every day, so if you just want to skim to the bottom to see the new daily questions…go for it.)
For those of you new to the contest, here are the official deets:
Okay, this is how the contest is going to work: Each day from now until April 26th, I’ll be posting at least two questions for you to answer. Post your answer to THE DAY’S QUESTIONS in the comment section of that day’s post.You have to answer ALL QUESTIONS to be entered. And the really cool part? I’ll be choosing AT LEAST two winners per day as well.
Winners will get to choose their prize from the list below:
Erin Kellison - Arc of Shadow Bound – Won by Amy (Day 1 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey – 1st combo won by Colleen (Day 1 winner) Nina Pierce - Promo pack of goodies - won by Stacey (Day 2 winner) Anita Clenney - $15 Borders Gift Certificate - won by Donna S (Day 2 winner) Helen Scott Taylor - The Phoenix Charm – won by Pam P. (Day 3 winner) Larissa Ione - Desire Unchained- won by Delitealex (Day 3 winner) Vivi Anna - The Vampire’s Quest – won by Karin (Day 3 winner) Juliana Stone - His Darkest Hunger- won by Christie (Day 4 winner) Vivi Andrews - The Sexorcist – won by Joder (Day 4 winner) Lucy Monroe - Moon Craving – won by Julie (Day 4 winner) Annette McCleave - Bound By Darkness – won by Melissa (Day 5 Winner) Alix Rickloff - Dangerous as Sin – won by Cybercliper (Day 5 winner) Jess Granger - Beyond the Rain – won by Sue A. (Day 5 winner) Joan Swan - Custom 1.0L SIGG water bottle – won by Jane C. (Day 6 winner) Donna Grant - Dangerous Highlander – won by Missy B (Day 6 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey Combo – won by Phyllis (Day 6 winner) Barbara Monajem - Sunrise in the Garden of Love & Evil – won by Arantza (Day 6 winner)
Once a prize is chosen, it gets crossed off the list, so pay close attention to what gets claimed so you have your 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices mapped out.
That’s it. Super easy. I ask, you answer, YOU WIN!
(Winners will be chosen at random, must be 18 yrs old to participate, yadda yadda yadda. Winners will be contacted by email, when a prize is chosen, it’s crossed off the list and the winner’s name is listed next to their prize.)
Also, don’t forget part two of my awesome contest. I have THREE $25 gift cards to the bookstore of your choice to give away. To enter this portion of the contest, simply email me at elisabeth@elisabethnaughton.com to tell me where you posted about either this contest or the release of MARKED. Simply put “MARKED Release Contest” in the subject line of your email. (If you post the above MARKED widget or book cover somewhere you get entered twice!). You can enter as many times as you like. The more times/places you talk up MARKED, the more chances you have to win.
Got it?
Let’s keep going…
***
Okay…DAY EIGHT QUESTIONS: (FYI: the number of questions equals the number of prizes being given out that day. And if you haven’t already figured it out, question one will ALWAYS have something to do with Greek mythology.)
1) Who is your favorite Hero (we’re talking Greek myth here, folks) and why?
(FYI: I’m going to be reposting the contest rules every day, so if you just want to skim to the bottom to see the new daily questions…go for it.)
For those of you new to the contest, here are the official deets:
Okay, this is how the contest is going to work: Each day from now until April 26th, I’ll be posting at least two questions for you to answer. Post your answer to THE DAY’S QUESTIONS in the comment section of that day’s post.You have to answer ALL QUESTIONS to be entered. And the really cool part? I’ll be choosing AT LEAST two winners per day as well.
Winners will get to choose their prize from the list below:
Erin Kellison - Arc of Shadow Bound – Won by Amy (Day 1 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey – 1st combo won by Colleen (Day 1 winner) Nina Pierce - Promo pack of goodies - won by Stacey (Day 2 winner) Anita Clenney - $15 Borders Gift Certificate - won by Donna S (Day 2 winner) Helen Scott Taylor - The Phoenix Charm – won by Pam P. (Day 3 winner) Larissa Ione - Desire Unchained- won by Delitealex (Day 3 winner) Vivi Anna - The Vampire’s Quest – won by Karin (Day 3 winner) Juliana Stone - His Darkest Hunger- won by Christie (Day 4 winner) Vivi Andrews - The Sexorcist – won by Joder (Day 4 winner) Lucy Monroe - Moon Craving – won by Julie (Day 4 winner) Annette McCleave - Bound By Darkness – won by Melissa (Day 5 Winner) Alix Rickloff - Dangerous as Sin – won by Cybercliper (Day 5 winner) Jess Granger - Beyond the Rain – won by Sue A. (Day 5 winner) Joan Swan - Custom 1.0L SIGG water bottle – won by Jane C. (Day 6 winner) Donna Grant - Dangerous Highlander – won by Missy B (Day 6 winner) Melina Morel - Smolder/Prey Combo – won by Phyllis (Day 6 winner) Barbara Monajem - Sunrise in the Garden of Love & Evil – won by Arantza (Day 6 winner)
Once a prize is chosen, it gets crossed off the list, so pay close attention to what gets claimed so you have your 2nd, 3rd, etc. choices mapped out.
That’s it. Super easy. I ask, you answer, YOU WIN!
(Winners will be chosen at random, must be 18 yrs old to participate, yadda yadda yadda. Winners will be contacted by email, when a prize is chosen, it’s crossed off the list and the winner’s name is listed next to their prize.)
Also, don’t forget part two of my awesome contest. I have THREE $25 gift cards to the bookstore of your choice to give away. To enter this portion of the contest, simply email me at elisabeth@elisabethnaughton.com to tell me where you posted about either this contest or the release of MARKED. Simply put “MARKED Release Contest” in the subject line of your email. (If you post the above MARKED widget or book cover somewhere you get entered twice!). You can enter as many times as you like. The more times/places you talk up MARKED, the more chances you have to win.
Got it?
Let’s keep going…
***
Okay…DAY SEVEN QUESTIONS: (FYI: the number of questions equals the number of prizes being given out that day. And if you haven’t already figured it out, question one will ALWAYS have something to do with Greek mythology.)
1) Explain how Persephone is related to the seasons.
2) Author Lucy Monroe and I are both going to be in a new RS anthology. What’s the name of this upcoming anthology and when is it scheduled to release?
3) Author Heather Davis is part of something called “The Buzz Girls”. What is this?
4) One of Loucinda McGary’s books has been nominated by the Australian Romance Readers Association for best RS of 2009. What is the name of her nominated book?
If you tried to email me through my webpage contact form recently…apologies! I just learned yesterday that it wasn’t working and messages were getting bounced. It’s all fixed now though, so contact away! I’d love to hear from you!
Now on to the Kewl New Contests…
Are you following me on Twitter? Well, you should be! I run random contests every now and then. Last night I gave away 3 ARCs of MARKED to the first three people who could email me something about Greek mythology I didn’t know. (Don’t send them now…I already picked three winners). Congrats to Laurie D., Tori & Donna S. for their enlightening tidbits! I learned something new and hope everyone who participated learned something as well. I’ll totally be doing more of these fun, sporadic Twitter contests, so stay turned.
I’m participating in the Night Owl Romance Spring Fling Web Hunt which runs from April 15-May 15. Check out the link for a chance to win books, goodies and a whole host of prizes from a variety of super cool authors.
Have you signed up for Lucy Monroe’s Reader At Home online Conference yet? What are you waiting for? It runs the week of RT – April 26-30, 2010. I’ll be involved in this fabulous event as well.
And finally, I’m in the process of putting together my MARKED Release Contest! Stay tuned for more details, but just let me say right now…it’s gonna be sweet! Tons of authors involved, tons of cool books and prizes, ten days of fun! The contest will run April 17-April 26th, wrapping up the day before MARKED hits store shelves. I hope you participate!
Wow, I can’t believe it’s Saturday already! This has been a really crazy (but good!) week for me. The awesome Publisher’s Weekly review of MARKED, the anthology invitation from Kensington, the RITA nominations (squee!!!) for STOLEN FURY and finally the PLA Conference. Last night I had dinner with my editor at this cute little Irish pub in North Portland and it was so much fun. A great topper to the entire week. She was very excited about the RITA news and is even more excited about the RELEASE of MARKED in just a few short weeks. This awesome energy is going to propel me into finishing TEMPTED (book 3, Eternal Guardians) and I’m looking forward to getting back to work next week when the Gremlins go back to school.
In the meantime, today is Saturday Snippet Day! And the topic is Fight Scenes. This comes from MARKED, which releases SOON!! I hope you enjoy!
***
MARKED
Eternal Guardians Book 1
Release Date: 4/27/10
Acacia’s scream brought Theron’s head around. The daemon he’d been fighting clocked him in the jaw. Theron roared and lashed out with his blade, slicing the beast across the chest. A rush of liquid sprayed over his skin, but in the chaos he didn’t know if it was his blood or the daemon’s.
He whirled around and kicked the second creature in the chest, then plunged his parazonium, the ancient Greek dagger he’d gotten from his father, deep into the unholy’s side. The beast went down with a howl, all twelve inches of the blade disappearing inside the daemon’s flesh, but Theron knew neither one was dead, just dazed and seconds from pouncing again.
He didn’t have time to finish either of them off, though. He turned to look for Acacia, only to see she’d crambled behind the counter and was throwing books and office supplies at the third daemon, who kept advancing on her, as if that would keep him back. When that didn’t work, she jumped to her feet and yanked the fire extinguisher from the wall, pointed it at the daemon and turned it on full blast.
The daemon was temporarily blinded by the gush of white foam, but with a roar he charged again. Theron raced across the room and reached the counter just as Acacia swung the canister and nailed the daemon in the side of the head. She climbed to the top of the counter and did it again, this time using her leverage from above to nail him hard.
The beast went down. Theron drew his blade. And was kidney-punched from behind as one of the other two found its footing again. Claws flashed, Theron whipped around, his blade slicing through flesh and air, but still the daemon came, seven feet and three hundred pounds of unending muscle.
From behind him he could hear Acacia swinging the fire extinguisher at the other beast. A growl from the front of the store indicated the third was back on his feet.
Skata. They were in serious trouble. Two he could handle easily. Three if he were by himself. But not with Acacia. And even if he could manage to figure a way out of this one and get her far enough away to concentrate and open the portal, she had to willingly go with him. Because she was human, he couldn’t force her across the threshold. And in her current state of hysteria? Wasn’t gonna happen. Which meant they were well and truly screwed.
The daemon flipped him to the ground and lunged. Theron cracked his head against the daemon and threw the beast off him as if it weighed nothing. The daemon crashed into a shelving unit. Books rained down on top of him, but the monster scrambled to its feet and charged as if he hadn’t even felt the blow. Theron jumped to his feet as well, and in one mighty sweep his blade ripped through flesh and bone. With a sickening crack, the head was severed from the daemon’s body and rolled across the blood- soaked carpet.
A horrendous roar echoed through the store. The daemon Theron had left bloodied by the door plowed into him and took him down to the carpet. His blade flew out of his hand and clanged against the counter. Theron’s face was pressed into the carpet as claws ripped across the jacket on at his back.
Fuck. Now they were really screwed.
Then he heard a thud, and a swoosh. Felt a gush of something warm across his back and heard a mighty howl as the daemon fell off him.
Theron was on his feet in a fl ash, only to realize Acacia had his blade plunged deep into the daemon’s chest. She pulled the weapon out. The daemon fell back, shook himself and seemed to regather his strength. Theron quickly took the weapon from Acacia and pushed her behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the second daemon, covered in foam, rising slowly to his feet. “Get back!”
“Oh, shit,” she muttered.
He crouched down in his fighter’s stance, lunged toward the first and sensed the second circling around to advance on Acacia. He had microseconds to decide his next move, and then suddenly the tide shifted.
It’s spring break here, which means my gremlins are home 24/7 until next Monday. I’m trying to get some writing done while they’re home, but it’s a struggle. Over the weekend we were here (see photo on right) at Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon with friends who own a house there. Saturday the guys took the kids golfing (it was 66 degrees). Sunday my girlfriend and I took them snowboarding 15 miles up the road at the Hoodoo Ski Area. Where else but in Oregon can you go golfing one day and skiing the next, all within 15 miles of each other?
This week is a wild one for me. On top of writing, I’m speaking at the PLA Conference in Portland on Thursday with John Charles from the Chicago Tribune/Booklist, Elizabeth Boyle, Christina Dodd & Nicole Burnham. My editor’s flying in for the conference as well, so she and I are gonna grab dinner one night, which I’m really looking forward to. Tomorrow I have an “online appt” to get my computer fixed (grrr…it’s still giving me fits) and I’m hoping that takes care of my tech issues. And somewhere in there I promised my kids I’d take them to see the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, which opened last weekend.
I also have some good news, but I can’t share yet. Kinda waiting for the official announcement. Will let you know more when I can (hopefully soon!)
In the meantime, if you’re browsing for something to read, I’m over at the Bradford Bunch talking about reviews. And if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet, go do it. I still have MARKED ARCs and I’m going to draw a name from my newsletter and send someone a lucky book. Friday. Let’s say I’ll do it on Friday! So go sign up!
It’s not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, BUT…I feel like giving away an ARC of MARKED today in honor of the holiday! (My Eternal Guardians are definitely not Irish, but I am, so what I say goes.)
Here’s how we’ll do it. I’m going to list off five questions. You have to find the answers. (Google, anyone?) Come back here, post your answers in the comment section. Everyone who posts the five correct answers will be entered into the drawing. Easy stuff.
Since my “guys” are Greek (not Irish), the five questions deal with Greek Mythology.
Ready? Here we go.
***
1. Who is considered the greatest of the Greek heroes?
(Hint: This has something to do with MARKED!)
2. Who is Hades’s consort?
(Hint: She’s also known as the Queen of the Underworld.)
3. Which hero led the Argonauts?
(Hint: Think – The Golden Fleece.)
4. Who are the “big three” gods of the pantheon?
(Hint: One rules the sky, one rules the ocean and one rules the Underworld. Oh, and they’re brothers.)
5. Can you name the three Furies?
(Hint: This should be a no-brainer if you read STOLEN FURY. If not, you should easily be able to find it.)
That’s it. Five questions. I’ll choose a winner tomorrow from all who comment with the correct answers today.
Happy Saturday! I’m still having some computer issues – grrrrrrrr – and didn’t have time to work them out this week so my blogging was nil. Right now I’m on the netbook so I can post this fabulous Saturday Snippet.
Today’s topic is Black Moments. I admit, I’m a sucker a deep, dark, emotional black moment. I love them! The more emotional, the better!
This one comes from my May release, MARKED. It’s not THE black moment(that would give too much away!), but it’s the lead-in to it. I hope you enjoy!
***
Excerpted from: MARKED ISBN: 978-0-505-52822-3 Release Date: April 27, 2010
Theron stared at the ceiling long after Acacia fell asleep. Gods, he liked this. Way too much. Her, here in his bed. Hidden away from the world. Warm and snug and his.
His. There was a word. The irony was like a knife to the stomach.
He rolled to his side so he could watch her sleep and knew they didn’t have long. The king had probably already called the rest of the Argonauts together. What he’d said in the king’s chambers—with Zander as a witness—would be considered treason. He fully expected one of his kin to come charging in at any moment and drag him away.
He could hear their discussion now. Cerek the peacemaker would convince the rest not to take action until the morning. They’d come at first dawn. Play to Theron’s sense of honor. If that didn’t work, Gryphon would crack a joke about getting the king good, in a lame attempt to lighten the mood. Zander wouldn’t care one way or the other— so long as what happened to Theron didn’t affect him. And Demetrius . . . yeah, Demetrius would be pushing to have Theron hanged.
Too late, Theron realized he’d never told his Argonauts how much he respected them. Though they served together, fought together, none of them were close. And as he looked down at Casey, sleeping on her stomach with both arms tucked under her, her face tipped his way and one of her legs intertwined with his, he realized he’d never even thought of his Argonauts as separate individuals before. To him, they’d always been nothing more than fighters in a war they’d all been trained for. But now?
Now it was as if his eyes had been opened.
He brushed a finger down Acacia’s cheek, watched her back rise and fall in deep sleep. Studied the way her lashes formed spiky crescent shapes on her pale cheeks. Her courage still awed him. Last night she’d been ready to take him on. There was no other female in the universe who would dare stand up to him when he was in one of his moods, but it hadn’t stopped her. She was fearless. And as selfless as he’d told the king. Everything he’d never wanted but now couldn’t imagine living without.
He’d known she was his from the first taste. Long before he’d ever slid deep inside her. If he’d been more in tune with his humanity, he would have recognized it the first time he’d kissed her back in her small house. But he hadn’t. Because he’d needed her to unlock that side of him he’d always repressed.
She was his curse. His soul mate. His life. And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to keep her from dying.
His finger ran down her shoulder, over her back until he found the sheet covering her gorgeous ass. He gripped the cotton and pulled it down, then eased up on an elbow and looked at her marking.
Gods, it was fading. In a matter of days, it would be gone.
His chest squeezed tight, and though he wanted nothing more than to slide back inside her and wake her from the inside out, he knew he couldn’t. Shouldn’t. She needed to save her strength, not use it up pleasuring him.
One glance at the window told him the moon was setting and morning would be here soon. Careful, so as not to wake her, he pulled the covers up around her shoulders and headed for the shower. Her scent all over his body was distracting and arousing at the same time. As he lathered and rinsed under the hot spray, he told himself he was doing the right thing. The king had been correct on one count. Sometimes a great sacrifice is necessary.
He cut the water, grabbed a towel and dried his hair. After toweling off his legs, he pulled on new jeans, lifted the terry to his shoulders and froze.
Someone was outside on his porch.
Skata, he’d been wrong. They’d come for him already.
A deep male voice echoed through the closed doors. Followed by Acacia’s surprised and wary one.
His heart rate jerked.
No. He was wrong. They’d come for her.
***
Now check out these other fabulous Saturday Snippets!
Oy…it’s been a while since I’ve been here. Sorry! I have a good excuse.
Two weekends ago I went to an awesome weekend writers workshop and left my laptop at home. (And if you’ve never listened to Michael Hauge, and you’re a writer, your really should find where he’s speaking and go listen. The man is amazing.) My kids played on my laptop while I was gone and somehow downloaded a virus which has totally mucked up my system. After a week of trying to clean it up I have nearly everything working except for Google. And since blogger works off Google log-in info…yeah. I haven’t been able to blog. Grrrrrrrrrr… Right now I’m on the netbook but hoping to get my regular laptop back up and running soon. (Oh please, oh please, oh please…)
Aside from working on pulling my eyebrows out over the computer issue, I’ve been working on TEMPTED (Eternal Guardians book 3). The book is going good and I’m loving the characters.
In other news, I got an A+ review today on STOLEN SEDUCTION from The Good The Bad & the Unread! I can’t remember the last time I got an A+ on anything! My good friend (and fellow writer) Kristina McMorris has a way of keeping me firmly rooted in reality, however. When I told her about the review, she said, “…do you really think it’s a healthy policy to award a PERFECT grade to any author? I mean, where does an author aspire to go from there? Basically, they’re saying you just penned “The Sixth Sense” as one of your first books. And we all know what happened to THAT director since. All downhill from there.” Ah, thank goodness for friends who know how to bring everything back into focus. LOL
So let’s see…in other news…I have a few ARCs of MARKED left and I’m thinking of running a newsletter contest. If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter…go do it soon!!! (The sign up form is on the bottom of the home page.) You just never know when I’m gonna start handing out ARCs!
Oh! And I almost forgot! Stay tuned because my new updated website is going to go live sometime this month! It’s really really really really awesome (did I say really? Trust me. It’s REALLY awesome.)
Okay, so I lied. I said I’d post the ARC winner of MARKED yesterday but didn’t. I had a crazy busy day, so apologies.
BUT…because I’m feeling so generous (and got tons of work done yesterday), I decided to give away not one but TWO ARCs of MARKED!!!
Wendy (#7)
and
Dawn (#29)
email me at elisabeth@elisabethnaughton.com with your snail mail addys and I’ll get your book(s) in the mail!!
If you didn’t win, don’t despair. Follow me on Twitter (if you aren’t already) and pay attention because because I’ll have more ARCs to giveaway there soon!
Thanks to all who entered and spread the word about MARKED. Keep talking up the book and series, please!
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