Guest post and giveaway with Abbey MacInnis!

Today I'm happy and excited to host my good friend and critique partner, Abbey MacInnis. She's generously allowed me to pick her brain about her latest book and gain a little insight into her writer world. Plus she's even shown up bearing pressies! Not for me, alas. :( Oh well, I still love her. But before we get into the interview portion, how about a peek at the gorgeous cover for Abbey's latest release, His Fifth Avenue Thief?

Two years prior, Irishman Aaron O’Connel took his life from rags to riches. Chance and wits have kept him alive in 1850’S New York City. But no amount of money or success can bring his love Cathlene back from
the dead. When a thief sneaks her way into his mansion, the last woman he expects to find absconding with his belongings is his long lost wife. Abandoned on New York’s shores, a widowed, penniless, and ruined
Cathlene O'Connel was left to fend for herself in an unfamiliar world. Fear and circumstance drove her to a life of thieving in order to survive, but her heart risks the biggest danger of all when Aaron hands
her a scandalous proposition: A son in exchange for her freedom. Now that he has her back, Aaron doesn't intend to let Cathlene slip between his fingers. He'll do whatever it takes to regain her trust and love. But when an enemy from Cathlene's past resurfaces, Aaron not only faces battling for Cathlene's heart, but also her life.

Buy it at: Amazon   Smashwords  All Romance Ebooks
Visit Abbey at her author website  Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads and follow her on her Blog

Abbey MacInnis is a published author of Contemporary Western romance. Along with Contemporary, she writes Historical, Paranormal and erotic romance. Whether she’s being swept off her feet by a Medieval knight, regency rake, or cowboy or cop, her heroes are always strong men who’ll love their women unconditionally. On most days, Abbey can be found at her computer, penning her latest tale. A tale where love, respect, and passion combine to create a satisfying and happy ending. She invites you to step in to the pages of her romances, to leave your worries behind and get swept up in her world.


Thanks again for being here today Abbey. How about we start off with some official-like author questions. What was your favorite/ least favorite part of writing His Fifth Avenue Thief? Is there a scene that particularly resonates with you?
There wasn't really any particular scene that I didn't enjoy writing. I think my favorite scene was the theater scene, since it's so emotional. I think what's difficult for me when I'm writing an historical is
figuring out what little detail to include and what to leave out. I learned so many cool things while doing the research for this book. But ultimately, I had to ask whether the information will help move the
story forward or not. :)

How much research did you have to do prior to writing this book?
Quite a bit, actually. :) i love that part of the writing process, so to me, it wasn't work.

Is there any routine or writing rituals that you use either while writing or in the plotting process? Any particular things that inspire you?
I'm inspired by many things: music, song lyrics, finding a little factoid while I'm researching that I have to set aside for another project. Before I start a book, I try to have the characters goals, motivations and conflicts established. Othere than that, I let the story go where it will. It can be frustrating, but it's also fun.

Any upcoming projects you'd like to braggity mcbrag on?
Sure. :) Love to. :) My next book I'm aiming to release in late October is a Time Travel Regency called The Soldier's Savior. I always put myself in the  position where I need to find out the oddest little things. I'm
researching now when chest tubes were first used and when doctors first inflated lungs. :) I know, I know. Abbey, why so complicated? LOL



Ooh, an Abbey book with a paranormal element? Now you're talking my language. ;) And yay, I even have a sneak peek blurb to show off too! You really know how to make a gal feel special.
Forced to take administrative leave after the sudden death of her fiancé, E.R. resident, Gemma Taylor heads to England where she finds an old diary. Thrust back to 1814, she realizes that the man who discovered her is Lord Alexander Hayworth. His tragic future’s found within the diary’s pages. He’s  about to be convicted of murder. Only she holds the key that can save him, but first she must convince Lord Alex to trust her before it’s too late. Alex trusts no one, He has enemies who’d stop at nothing to ruin him, even send a woman to ease their way. When Gemma warns him of his fate, and that of his brother, he doesn’t want to believe her. But he has no choice. Then her predictions come true, and his brother is shot, Alex knows he must rely on Gemma to save both his life and his brother’s. Gemma too, must confront her own demons and find the faith she once had in medicine and save the earl, opening her heart to Alex in the process. With their enemies even more determined to slight them, they have no choice but to remain close and work together. Can Alex and Gemma tempt fate and reverse the events of the past? Or will fate tear them apart forever?

Your upcoming release sounds terrific, Abbey. So inquiring minds want to know. Exactly how awesome is your CP, Jodi Redford? What? That's a totally legit and serious question.
LOL Okay, confession time. :) She's more awesome than I could ever express here. Really, I sometimes don't know what I'd do without her and my other cp, Jane. :) You ladies keep me sane and calm. :) <~~~ Aw, likewise. Though the sane part might be debatable in my case.

Now for some fun stuff that I may or may not blackmail you with later on:
Oh God. :) What have I gotten myself into?

What was the first romance novel that you ever read?
I think it was The Ring by Danielle Steele.

Who's your favorite author?
That's not really a fair question. :) I have so many authors I adore and respect. I started out reading
Danielle Steele, Johanna Lindsey, Irish Johansen, Kay Hooper, Elizabeth
Lowell, Nora Roberts, Karen Moning...too many to name. :)

If you could be stranded on a deserted island with any fictional romance hero, who would it be?
Roarke, the hot hero from the Eve Dallas books without question!!!! He's Irish, and smart, and rich, and Irish, and yummy! :) He's a survivor too, so I'd be alright. :)

If you could meet any famous person(s), from present time or history, who would it be?
Jane Austen, and Colin Firth.

Thanks to Jodi for having me here today. :) I had alot of fun, and if any of you readers want to ask me a question, well, shoot, go for it! :) The next stop on my blog tour is Let's Talk Romance coming up this Sunday. :) http://letstalkromance.wordpress.com/
I'd love to see you there! :)

You're very welcome, Abbey! And come back any time. I'm not just saying that to weasel more compliments out of you, either.

Hey everyone, Abbey is generously offering a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky reader, so put your fingers to the keys and leave her a question in the comments area. We'll keep the contest open until midnight Sunday to give everyone a chance to enter. Good luck!

Maximum Witch has a cover!

This must be the week for getting covers. And let me tell you, they've been truly awesome. Up on the viewing block this time is the cover for my upcoming September release, Maximum Witch. Kanaxa hit this one out of the ball park. Love it!

Who says getting eaten by a shark is a bad thing?

That Old Black Magic, Book 3

Willa Jameson is having one whopper of an identity crisis. Odd memory flashes that aren’t hers. A sultry voice in her head that’s obsessed with sex. Even weirder, she finds herself in the jaws of a rogue leviathan, dragged to the bottom of the ocean—and rescued by a hunky…shark?

The last thing Sheriff Max Truitt expects to find on his daily, deep-Atlantic patrol is a human—especially one who breathes underwater. Compelled to take her home, he waits for the beauty to wake up and reveal her name. Instead he’s treated to a punch in the nose, then a sexy romp hot enough to boil water.

The next morning, embarrassed by the sizzling, scandalous things the voice in her head drove her to do, Willa slips away. But if there’s one thing a determined shark excels at, it’s tracking his favorite meal.

Solving the mystery that is Willa is no simple task. When they finally unlock a dangerous secret hidden deep in her subconscious, it drives a wedge between them…and puts them in a desperate race against an evil that seeks to rain down a watery Armageddon on all mankind.

Warning:This book does not contain sex with a puffer fish. There’s not even sex with a seahorse. However, there’s plenty of smoking-hot lovin’ with a shark. And even a steamy M/F/M threesome. So slap on your snorkels and swim fins, things are about to get wet and wild.

The Naughty List

Okay, so as a few of you might know, I have a super sexy menage coming out at the end of November that has absolutely no--gasp--paranormal or woo woo elements in it. I know, shocking. Who knew my brain could even function without throwing a swearing unicorn or a cross dressing were-aardvark into the mix? But I have to say, The Naughty List was a ton of fun to write and I really ended up falling in love with Lacey, Ry and Bram. So you're probably wondering why I'm being all braggity mcbrag on this particular book today, particularly since it's not releasing until the end of November? Well, it's because I've got cover lovin' to share, of course. ;)

So without further ado, I present in all its smoldering smexiness, The Naughty List:

Making a list, and rocking it...twice.

Perpetual good girl Lacey McGuire has two Christmas wish lists. One suitable for public consumption…and a private one that’s too hot to handle. Right at the top: wild, wicked fantasies about her best buddies and business partners Ryan Hollister and Bram Colton.

Besides the fact they’re both poster boys for Hunks ’R’ Us, they’ve been there for her through thick, thin and the heartbreak of a cheating fiancé. So what if her boys will never know they star in her sexiest daydreams? In her fantasy world, her heart will never get trampled again.

Ry and Bram are pretty sure Lacey never meant to email a list of some of her raunchiest wants. Particularly the one that tightens their shorts—she wants a threesome. With them. Although they’ve loved her for years, they made a pact to keep Lacey off limits in order to protect their friendship. Now all bets are off. And the quest to give her all she wants—and more—is on.

Warning: This book contains a wickedly hot M/F/M ménage that will heat up the holidays. Friends steaming things up in a hot tub. Bondage and blindfolds. Sexy shenanigans at a Christmas tree lot. And maybe even a glimpse of Santa…in a Speedo.

New Contract!

It's official! I just signed the contract for Getting Familiar With Your Demon, book 4 in The Old Black Magic series!! I'm still in the process of getting this book wrapped up, so I don't have a blurb or anything to share yet, but so far it looks like I might be getting a February release date for this one. Fingers crossed!


And just because I can't resist letting Sam the demon bask in his celebratory moment. ;)

Seven Year Witch Release Day!!!

Today is the official release day for The Seven Year Witch! I'm so happy and excited to finally have Clarissa and Logan's story out there for the world to see. This book was truly an emotional roller coaster for me to write and it holds a special place in my heart. Because of this being release week, I'm at a few places giving away some pressies. From now through Thursday, you can find me and Logan at Among The Muses, where you can win a $10 gift certificate to Samhain Publishing. Tomorrow I have a Launch Party over at Author Island. I don't have an official link to that yet, or the release party I'll be participating in at The Romance Studio on Thursday, so keep an eye out for those tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's the blurb and a naughty little excerpt.

After this much foreplay, something’s bound to combust.

That Old Black Magic, Book 2

As head mistress of Beaumont coven house, Clarissa Miles has perfected two things: keeping her sister witches from accidently turning innocent bystanders into toads, and resisting the sexy overtures of her familiar, werewolf Logan Scott.

But her resolve is vanishing—fast. Seven years ago she sold her soul to save her father, and that contract is coming due. The allure of spending her last days indulging in some dirty, naked loving is too tempting to resist.

Logan has patiently ridden out the past seven years, content to do Clarissa’s bidding and ignoring his consuming need to mark her as his. Now that the ban on witch/familiar fraternizing has been lifted, he’s off the leash and ready to launch a full-on sensual assault on her defenses. They’re destined mates, and he’ll do whatever it takes to convince her.

It’s delightfully easy to get her in bed. Get at her heart? Not so much. Especially when a deadly predator stakes its claim on her…and Logan faces a battle not only to win her heart, but save her soul.

---

Product Warnings

This book contains a villain with more personalities than Sybil, a witch in search of redemption and a dirty-talking werewolf hell-bent on claiming his mate in every wicked, sexy way possible. Spontaneous howling may occur.

Logan stepped into the service entrance of Tatum’s and bypassed the kitchen, following the corridor to the main section of the restaurant. He coughed, nearly hacking up a lung as the acrid smoke from what undoubtedly amounted to ten thousand packs of cigarettes ambushed him. His heightened lupine senses always made walking into a bar a dicey prospect.

Steeling himself, he strode toward the jam-packed bar. After elbowing a path through the throng and requesting a beer from the bartender, he moseyed out of the way and scoped the room for an available seat. The majority of tables close to the stage were already taken, but he spotted a vacant booth that still afforded a decent view.

Hoping to sweet talk his way into the primo spot, he swiveled toward the hostess stand, only to slam to a standstill when he spied Clarissa sitting at a table near the back of the dining room. She wasn’t alone. Even while his brain scrambled to process that disturbing revelation, he watched the stranger’s hands bracket Clarissa’s face, right before the guy leaned in and kissed her.

Numb disbelief froze him. What. The. Fuck.

Jealous fury detonated inside him, instantly eradicating every thought but the one screaming in his mind—the fucking asshole had his tongue rammed in Clarissa’s mouth. His woman.

Fists balling in preparation of punching the dickwad’s nose off kilter, Logan growled low in his throat and stalked in Clarissa’s direction. A seat suddenly swerved in front of him, almost jabbing him in the hip. He snarled at the clueless guy straddling the chair before shoving the seat out of the way. Ignoring the guy’s sputtering retort, Logan jerked his focus back to Clarissa. And did a double take.

She was alone.

He took a quick scan of the dining room, not seeing the dickwad anywhere. It was almost as if the dude had vanished into thin air. Another possibility knocked against his consciousness and he grunted. Or maybe I imagined the whole thing. The idea wasn’t completely out in left field. Fuck knows this obsession with Clarissa had messed with his head on more than one occasion. Tunneling a shaky hand through his hair, he continued forward. When he was less than two table lengths away from Clarissa, she looked up and locked stares with him. Every ounce of color leeched from her face. Her gaze darted sideways, toward the back hallway, and he lengthened his stride, fully intending to tackle her if her butt so much as inched off her chair.

Apparently reading his intention, Clarissa muttered beneath her breath. He didn’t need to be a lip reader—or rely on his acute hearing—to make out the words “Fuck me.”

Her irritability, along with her choice of words, stirred the wicked beast within him. Drawing to a halt at her table, he awarded her his best wolfish smile. “Just name the time and place, shug.”

“You know damn well that isn’t what I meant.”

“No? Because I’m thinking that’s precisely what I’d like to do.”

Her cheeks bloomed with a vivid splash of red. “I’m not in the mood for this tonight.”

Clarissa’s testiness only managed to rekindle his anger. “Well, now, I’m real sorry you feel that way, shug. ’Cause the last thing I’d wanna do is piss on whatever urgent plans preempted our dinner tonight.”

“There’s no need to be a prick.” She stood, her eyes narrowing as he strategically blocked her path. “Or make a scene. Please move.”

“What are you gonna do if I don’t? Whammy me? Might be kinda hard explainin’ that one to everyone here, darlin’.”

“Logan, please.” Her voice broke on the last word, stunning him. She glanced down, but not before he caught the faint glimmer of moisture in her eyes. The sight hit him like a sucker punch in the gut, making him feel like the prick she’d accused him of being.

If there was one thing guaranteed to shred him to pieces, it was a woman’s tears. Having that woman be Clarissa only made it a thousand times more terrible. “Clarissa…”

Without saying another word, she rushed past him and hurried toward the rear hallway. Even her strongest holding spell wouldn’t have kept him from chasing after her.

He caught up with Clarissa before she could duck out the door or into the ladies’ restroom. Not that either location would have deterred him. He tugged her into his arms, the ferocity of her expression revealing just how much she hated showing the vulnerability hidden beneath that legendary icy exterior she’d perfected. Tucking her against his chest, he nuzzled her forehead. “Rissa, I’m sorry.”

She stiffened. “Please don’t call me that. I—it’s very inappropriate.”

“Hush.” Unable to help himself, he followed the delicate, silky arch of her eyebrow with his lips. She trembled and sighed, making both man and wolf silently growl in triumph at her tiny show of capitulation. Holding her this close was both heaven and hell, a heady torment that teased every single one of his heightened senses. She smelled luscious and feminine, a delicious main course he could easily feast on all day and night. His hands slid down the slopes of her shoulders, a not entirely unconscious marking of his territory.

Her breath stuttered in her throat. “This isn’t the place to be doing this.” She must have caught her slip of words because she jerked her gaze up to his. “I mean we shouldn’t be doing this at all.”

Tuning out her weak protest, he traced her mouth with the pad of his thumb. “That’s where you’re wrong. Right now, I need to kiss you more than I need to breathe. I wanna taste you. Eat you up.” Make you mine. The thought sprang full born from the most primal part of him, where wolf overruled man.

Clarissa’s eyes widened, but she didn’t draw back as his head descended. Their lips met, clung briefly, before he gave in to the fierce hunger burning low in the pit of his gut. Intent on making his possessiveness—and his desire—known, he nudged the hard ridge of his erection between her thighs. “Feel that, baby? That’s what you fuckin’ do to me.”

He filled his palms with her ass and squeezed, deliberately rolling his hips against hers. Yeah, he was dry humping her against a wall right outside the damn restrooms. But if the frequency of her gasps were any indication, she was enjoying the hell out of it just as much as he was.

His tongue slicked past the nonresistant barrier of her lips, and he relished the soft, breathy moan that escaped Clarissa. She was even more intoxicating than he remembered. Her magic shimmered around them, mingling with his energy and creating a charged buzz that tingled across his skin. He broke off the kiss, his breath ragged against her cheek. “Come home with me.”

She licked her lips. “That would be an epically bad idea.”

“Why?”

“Because we both know where it would lead.”

He ducked his head and nibbled a path along her jaw before exploring the soft hollow behind her ear with the tip of his tongue. “If you’re referrin’ to you tied to my bed, then yeah, damn straight.”

Her shallow exhale whispered against the side of his face. “Th-that’s not what I…” She swallowed. “You want to tie me to your bed?”

“More than you could imagine. God knows I’ve imagined it more often than I can count.” He released the tempting swells of her ass and glided his palms up along her hips, taking his time to properly enjoy her lush curves. “You’d be spread-eagled, your whole body tremblin’ and your nipples unbearably tight.”

“W-why would I be trembling?”

He grinned against her neck. “Don’t you also want to know why your nipples are tight?”

“I figured you’d get around to telling me, regardless.”

“Aw, shug, am I that predictable?” Yeah, he was. No way in hell he could temper the urge to tell her everything he wanted to do to her. In precise, Technicolor detail. “You’re tremblin’ because I’m eating your pussy. Lickin’ you inside and out, nice and slow. Savoring you.”

Her pulse skittered beneath his lips. “Logan, please—”

“Yeah, those are exactly the words you keep repeatin’ while my tongue is workin’ your clit and your sweet honey is filling my mouth.” He groaned and shifted, resting his forehead against hers. The fantasy had him hard as granite and desperate to sink into her softness. “Christ. Have mercy on me, Rissa. Say you’ll come home with me.”

ARC contest for The Seven Year Witch

It's just a week away for the release of The Seven Year Witch. Squee!!!! Okay, now that I've got that out of the way...how about a shot at winning an advanced read of Clarissa and Logan's book? Just visit my contest page here for all the details and to enter. But hurry, I'm closing the contest tomorrow at midnight.


And because Logan and I love The Black Keys and this awesome vid...

Win an iPad!

My friends Vivian Arend and the writing duo of Moira Rogers are hosting a great contest this month, where you can win an iPad and tons of great print and digital books. This week Taking Liberty is one of the featured digital books. So get thee over to the contest page and enter! Just click the icon below. Good luck!