Just One Drop Tour Stop and Giveaway

Excerpt Chapter 10

Vasile stared at his Beta for several moments before he spoke. "Is she your mate?" he finally asked.

Decebel let out an audible sigh. "I don't know, Vasile," he answered in a rare show of vulnerability, shown by using his Alpha's first name. It let Vasile know that Decebel needed his friend's guidance just as much as his Alpha's.

Vasile nodded. "Explain."

"I don't hear her thoughts, my markings are the same. She hasn't mentioned that she has any marks on her body. That said, my  wolf has claimed her." Decebel ran his hands through his hair, the frustration evident in his tense jaw as he continued to speak. "I've been battling him for the first time in over a century. No matter how much I remind myself that there aren't mating signs, my wolf doesn't care. He has claimed her and he wants her."

"So other than how you feel about her, there is no evidence that she could be your true mate?" Alina asked him gently.

"Well, actually..."

Just One Drop

Book 3 in the Grey Wolves Series

By Quinn Loftis

Jennifer Adams, best friend to Jacque Pierce and Sally Morgan, spicy, out spoken, a little crazy and human...or so she thought. Jen has just found out that human DNA is not the only thing that resides in her veins, she happens to share that little pesky werewolf gene, although it isn't more than just a drop. Now that she and her friends are living in Romania with Fane's pack, she is also oh so conveniently stuck with the object of her affection, the fur ball Decebel.

Drawn to each other by something they don't understand Jen finds herself frustrated by the lack of mating signs between her and said fur ball. Not only is she dealing with that not so un-frustrating problem, she now has been informed that because of that little drop of werewolf blood in her she is now required to attended a multi-pack gathering for un-mated wolves. This type of gathering hasn't taken place in over a century but with a shortage of females among the werewolf population the males are getting worried they won't ever find their true mates.

Meanwhile Decebel struggles with the emotions he is feeling towards Jen. He tries to keep his distance but there is just something about the mouthy blonde that keeps him coming back for more of her verbal abuse that he just can't seem to get enough of...go figure

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0075X9KPQ/ref=cm_sw_su_dp


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/?series_id=761128

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/129689

About the Author

Quinn is a 31 year old wife, mother, nurse, and writer, not necessarily in that order. She lives in beautiful North West Arkansas with her husband, son and Nora their Doberman pinscher. She loves writing, reading, and crocheting. Her favorite holiday is Christmas, favourite book(s) is Pride and Prejudice, The Alpha and Omega Series by Patricia Briggs, and the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. She loves to be silly and have fun, loves music and thinks there is no greater sound in the world than that of her little boy's laughter.


www.quinnloftisbooks.com

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Guest Blog and Giveaway with Jacqueline Gardner

The Upside of Almost Drowning

I joined my first competitive swim team at age seven and went on to compete in that sport until I finished high school.  I don't remember feeling scared the first time I submerged my entire body under water, and some of my earliest memories involve being overwhelmingly excited to jump off the diving board.  Being 100% comfortable holding my breath and diving beneath the surface was always something that came naturally.

Except once.

During swim practice one morning, I was feeling the burn.  I was fourteen and I'd been attending practices twice a day for months.  Just as I pushed away from the wall at the deep end, my flexing calves where suddenly overloaded with stimuli.  Both muscles spasmed so violently that I was forced to grab each leg to somewhat relieve the pain.  I sank to the bottom of the pool.

I'd experienced muscle cramps before (Charlie horses as my grandpa would say) but nothing as painful as this.  I remember sinking to the bottom and screaming.  For a second I was surrounded by bubbles and when they all cleared, I realized I was out of air.  My dilemma: my lungs were slowly starting to burn but I was in too much pain to move.  Besides that I felt light-headed.  I went through a brief moment of panic.  My chest felt like it was gradually being crushed and my legs were practically on fire.

In my book MUTINY, one of the main characters Eric experiences something similar.  He's chained and tossed in the ocean for betraying his Chief Commander.  Eric eventually sinks to the bottom and finds out what it feels like to drown.  While writing that scene, I drew from this frightening experience, though I don't have the ability to regenerate like Eric does.

Just as my body started shaking, my coach realized what was going on and jumped in the pool.  He pulled me out and helped me work through the spasms with a chest full of oxygen.  Since then any sort of muscle twitch startles me. 

It's a little weird to say that that experience turned out to be helpful, but it did.  I'm very happy with the way the drowning scene turned out.  While reading back through it, I can almost feel that same sense of hysteria I once felt at the bottom of the pool.  I only went through a tiny sliver of what Eric goes through at the bottom of the ocean, but luckily Eric's 'special' abilities get him out of it.   

Mutiny 

M.E.R. series, #1 

Book Blurb: 

Eric's life aboard a top secret stealth submarine as a member of the government’s M.E.R. program has been about discipline, cunning and survival. 

As both a soldier and a natural born regenerator, he can heal from any wound, but to stay alive he must accept a vein-burning serum that prevents his DNA from over-mutating. In exchange Eric must follow his Chief Commander’s every order. And never ask questions, no matter the assignment. 

When he goes ashore on his first solo mission he runs into a complication he didn't expect; Mariella, the target’s daughter. She’s about to change everything.

Author Bio: 

 Jacqueline Gardner works as a Story Editor for the production company, Labragirl Pictures. Her love of storytelling began at an early age when she would make up stories with her grandmother before bedtime. 

 In early 2010, she completed her first novel and has been stuck on writing ever since. She resides in Colorado and loves hiking, writing, fantasy fiction, and all things cupcake. 

 Website: www.jacquelinegardner.com 

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorjacquelinegardner

 Twitter: @Writer_Jacque

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Book Blitz with Suzanne Rock

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A Male’s Perspective on the Vampire in Fiction Guest Blog by Matthew D Ryan

Vampires abound in fiction. The success of the “Twilight” series indicates that there is a large market for depicting vampires as strong love-interests with something of a dark shadow on their souls. In essence, vampire chic lit. As a guy, I don’t find such vampires very interesting. As a guy, I’m usually looking for a subtext of violent conflict in my vampire stories, and with few exceptions (one being the Underworld movie series), I’m not much interested in romantic stories involving vampires.

Though there was some romance hinted at in the original “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, that was typically “proper” Victorian human-human romance. Dracula was not seen as a love interest in anyway. There may have been some repressed sexual overtones—I’ve seen references that claim the book was about homosexuality, and others saying it was about rape (I think the latter is somewhat more plausible)—but I see the book as primarily a work of horror. Count Dracula was a monster; he had no redeeming features. He did not sparkle, like Edward Cullen, he did not ruminate like Anne Rice’s Lestat. He simply fed, killed, and damned.

It’s been several years since I’ve read Dracula, but I seem to recall the action was kind of tame by modern standards. Still, his is the character that I, as a male reader, want to see in a vampire. Anne Rice’s Louis and Lestat held some interest for a brief period of time. Conceiving of a vampire as a reflective killer torn apart by angst was an original twist when it first came out. But nowadays that has become almost cliché, and in ways, it was the first step to humanizing the vampire which eventually gave us “Twilight.”

No, as a guy, when I read about vampires I want to see evil explored. The vampire as the prototypical villain with a host of supernatural powers to aid his fell designs. When one humanizes the vampire, as much vampire chic lit does, one has a tendency to lose many of the supernatural traits that mark them and make them interesting. At the very least, the powers in question become reduced in significance. The fact that a vampire can be incinerated by sunlight makes it a potentially beatable foe. How does that compute with sparkling? All the original powers (and weaknesses) of the vampire gave it a unique and compelling flavor that is slowly being whittled away by the process of humanizing them.

I, for one, prefer the vampire as a monster. It’s my “inner dragonslayer” perhaps. The beast that can control the weather, transform into a wolf, and escape as mist presents the hero’s challenge. It is a foe whose diabolical nature reverberates through the ages. It is a foe that leaves destruction in his wake. It is a foe that must be defeated or else all is lost.

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Books, Books, and More Books 

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Soliloquy

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Drasmyr

By Matthew D Ryan

In a world of wizards and vampires a clever man may make a fortune. But hunting the undead is no small task, as Coragan the bounty hunter will soon find out. He will need all his wits and the help of his comrades to succeed this time. Together, they must pit themselves against a creature so old time itself bends knee, an ancient vampire by the name of Lucian val Drasmyr. Read Drasmyr, a dark fantasy novel by Matthew D. Ryan.

We vampires do not make easy prey. Our weaknesses are few, our strengths many. Fear is something we do not know, and death but a distant memory. So tread softly, pray to your god, and gird yourself with silver when the moons arise and night’s dark prince awakens. We fear not the wizard, nor the warrior, neither rogue, nor priest; our strength is timeless, drawn from darkness and we know no master save the hot lust of our unending hunger. We long for blood, your blood and no blade, nor spell, nor clever artifice, can keep us long from our prize. Feel our teeth at your throat, your life ebb from you, and know as darkness comes to claim you that the price of your folly is your everlasting soul.

Author’s Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan

About the Author

Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. He has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He also has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He believes he saw the legendary Lake Champlain Monster (a.k.a Champy) once and he has a cat named Confucius.

Blog: http://www.atoasttodragons.com

Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000038781652

Twitter Handle: MatthewDRyan1

Home Gardening

In life, as in a garden, you reap what you sow.
~Nancilee Wydra- Feng Shui in the Garden


Nothing makes me feel better than being outside on a warm, sunny day working in my garden. I relax and have time to think. The stress melts away as I pull weeds and dig my hands into the soil. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when the flowers bloom and the fruits and vegetables bear fruit.

When harvest time comes I enjoy sharing my bounty with friends and family.

Gardening is a wonderful way to relax, enjoy nature, live green and save money. Growing your own fruit or vegetables can dramatically slash your grocery bill.

Just a few plants can keep you stocked for months.

You can save a lot of money with minimal effort by growing your own produce.

Seed packets are cheap usually ranging from $.25 to $2.00 depending on the seeds. A small area in your yard is free while a few containers and some dirt are not costly. You can also buy small plants from a local nursery. A 4 or 6 pack of tomato plants averages $3.00 and 4 or 6 plants can produce a large amount of tomatoes.

Basically it involves digging a hole, sticking in some seeds or a plant and keeping it weed free and watered. Small effort, big rewards. You’ll really see the rewards when harvest time comes and you have loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.

If you have children gardening is great way to spend time with them and get them outside. They’ll love watching the plants flourish and they will be more likely to eat the foods that they helped grow.

Once you really get into gardening you’ll want to learn more. Easy ways are to go to free gardening classes, join a gardening club, or check out books and videos from your local library

I started out with a few tomato plants and every year my garden gets bigger and I plant a larger variety of plants. Now I usually have tomatoes, several varieties of squash, pumpkins, peppers, turnips and more plus all my flowers and ornamentals.

This year I’m adding a small herb area.

Planting a few pumpkin seeds alone saves me a small fortune at Halloween. I no longer have to pay ridiculous prices for pumpkins that my kids carve into Jack-o-lanterns.

Tomatoes and peppers are relatively easy to grow and can also be grown in containers.

Herbs are great for growing in pots on your patio or even on your windowsill. Go to your local nursery or garden center and see what they have available. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Trained workers can often help you pick out the right plants or seeds for your area and level of knowledge. If you wanted to grow pumpkins, squash or watermelon you would need a large area since the vines sprawl out. While peppers, most herbs, cucumbers or beans take up smaller plots.

You’ll really see how much sense gardening makes and dollars you’ll save at harvest time when you have fresh fruits and vegetables to enjoy and share with family and friends. Make the most of your harvest by turning your fruits and vegetables into jams, jellies, sauces, soups, pickles, breads and more that can be easily stored in your pantry or frozen and can be used for months to come.

The Quiet Moment Before the Fall - Lavender Reflections Bath Tea Recipe

The Quiet Moment Before the Fall - Lavender Reflections Bath Tea Recipe

by Tonya Macalino, author of FACES IN THE WATER

(former owner of Rusting Sage Bath & Cosmetics)

The last night Alyse Kate Bryant spends outside the haunting Venetian ruins, she takes refuge in a quiet ritual designed to release the emotional and physical tension of a dangerous profession. Lavender to soothe the senses, Epsom and Dead Sea salts to restore the body, honey and goat’s milk to rejuvenate the skin. Try this single-serving bath tea for nights when you need a little escape of your own.

Just beware what you might find waiting for you on the other side!

Lavender Reflections Bath Tea

In a clean custard cup combine:

1 ½ tsp dendritic salt*

1/8 tsp lavender essential oil

*Dendritic salt binds the essential oil, improving scent and reducing greasiness. If you cannot find it, drizzle the oil over the rolled oats below instead.

In a clean mixing bowl combine:

¼ tsp honey powder*

1 ½ tsp powdered goats milk

1 TBSP rolled oats

1 ½ tsp Epsom salts

1 TBSP baking soda

2 TBSP lavender buds

3 TBSP Dead Sea salts

*If you cannot find dried honey powder, either omit or drizzle regular honey into the salts. Only do this if you plan to use the tea right away.

Combine contents of custard cup with contents of mixing bowl and stir thoroughly. Spoon into muslin bag and tie securely. (Or use a heat-seal tea bag.) To use, place the bag under the spout while running your bath. If lavender buds escape the pouch, simple scoop them off the top of the water before you drain the tub at the end a long soothing soak.

The Quiet Moment Before the Fall

(excerpt from FACES IN THE WATER)

With the cozy chill still kissing my skin, I opted for a bath, instead of a shower. I let the oversized claw-foot tub fill as I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and pulled out a black silk-cotton blend camisole and short set for bed. The rumble of the water comforted me and I moved half-asleep through my evening ritual.

When the water had reached just below the overflow drain, I turned it off and stirred in my favorite lavender salts. Then I reached over and switched out the lights, leaving only the flickering candle glow to see by. I slid into the tub.

It was perfect.

I sank in just until my breasts were covered, as far as I could go with my lanky frame and still keep most of my legs submerged. I spread my hair over the side. All the aches still left over after the stretching slipped slowly away. It was late; I couldn’t stay in long. But I took a moment and let the hot water rock over me, let the steam dampen my face, let the provincial scent of the lavender flood my senses. The water crept up my neck, stroke by lapping stroke. My head lolled to the side on the cool enamel.

He came for me.

The shark’s huge powerful body burst through the water straight at me. I had enough time to see the black rot of old carrion, the red blood of fresh kills on his row after row of serrated teeth. He hit me straight in the face. My scream was choked with water.

A Bath & a Book

FACES IN THE WATER is available on Amazon or Barnes & Noble—the perfect accompaniment to the perfect handcrafted bath. I hope you enjoy both and thanks for the opportunity to drop by!

Faces in the Water

By Tonya Macalino

Who created that slide of silk across your skin as you reached for your cinematic lover? Who recorded the crushing weight of the grizzly as you fought for your life in the fictional wilderness? It is Lone Pine Pictures’ Alyse Kate Bryant who wraps your body in the story only your mind was privy to before.

A brilliant sensory immersion artist and a wild daredevil, Alyse will do almost anything for the perfect sensory file, but the violent death of her father has her teetering on the very edge of reckless sanity.

For just one night, Alyse seeks refuge in the arms of a beautiful stranger.

And her recklessness finally has consequences.

Now Alyse finds herself trapped in the flooded ruins of Venice, a quarantine camp for the carriers of Sleepers’ Syndrome. But it can never be that simple. Because the Sleepers’ Syndrome carriers who populate the camp are no longer as human as they seem.

The city of legend is bringing its legends back to life.

They come now, Alyse.

Run.

About the Author

Tonya Macalino lives in Hillsboro, Oregon with her husband and two children. She is an avid collector of folklore and folk history, far too many to fit comfortably within the pages of any given book. When not working on her latest novel, she enjoys coaching other writers through the How to Build a Book workshops at Jacobsen’s Books & More. To read more of the little folklore gems she unearthed during her research, please visit her blog at www.tonyamacalino.com


For news and events, drop by her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TonyaMacalino.com

The Story of Place Blog: www.tonyamacalino.com/page10.php

Amazon Author Page:
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