Celebratory Snipper: Shaped by You by Debra Jess #fantasy #scifirom via @DebraJess

While today's snippet is not no much celebratory, it's from a holiday romance so perfect for the season. Enjoy!

Snippet:

A super-hot shower scalded her to consciousness without the need for coffee. She didn’t bother with makeup but used her flat iron. If this guy was perfect, he wouldn’t care what she looked like, right? She still changed in the shower room, though, pulling her best jeans and nicest sweater out of their drawers. Modesty might be pointless if her perfect man had already seen her drunk and stupid while she was sculpting him, but it mattered to her.

Had he, though? Seen her naked?

Back in the kitchenette, the sweet smell of latkes frying in the pan reminded her of the leftovers from last night. Her fear of him trying to create a gourmet meal out of her meager offerings dissipated. He’d warmed up the latkes, dabbed them with sour cream and apple sauce, added two jelly sufganiyot, and a tall glass of orange juice.

He portioned out a second dish. He eats! His Adam’s apple even bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

“This is amazing. The flavors and the textures are just incredible.” He sipped the juice. “I can’t believe how sweet orange juice is.”

It took her a second to realize he’d never eaten anything before. “I’ll let the Sisterhood know you enjoy their food.”

He eyed the rest of the latkes on the counter. She shoved them at him. A guy that big would need a big meal. He scooped some onto his plate, but also onto hers. She didn’t argue. He didn’t seem to mind if she stared.

Not only didn’t he mind, he even did the dishes. What did she do to deserve all this? The more pressing question: what should she do with him now?

Blurb:

When Miriam sculpted The Perfect Man, she intended for him to stay put. Now he's missing, putting her future as an independent artist in jeopardy. Figures that she couldn't even get her Perfect Man to stay with her, never mind her ex-boyfriend. Now she has to figure out what to do with the naked stranger who's suddenly appeared in her loft, claiming he can help her find her Perfect Man.

The buy link is: http://www.heartskiss.com/

Celebratory Snippets: Even Villains Have Interns by Liana Brooks via @lianabrooks #superhero #romance

For this Celebratory snippet, this is a scene from one of my all time favourite series - Heroes and Villains - by Liana Brooks. In this scene, the boyfriend has been subjected to the whole super family en masse...

Delilah curled her legs up on the big comfy chair and watched Alan ease into the deep waters of Smith family living. He’d lost the deer-in-the-headlights look over dinner and playing video games with the younger boys. Now all he had to do was defrost enough to talk to her sisters.

Maria collapsed in the sofa beside her. “Do you know how hard it is to find one hat in Yellowstone National Park?”

“Apropos of nothing,” Delilah murmured. “No. Is that where you’ve been?”

“My rancher lost his hat.”

“So he asked you to look for it?”

“Ha! No. That would require him to talk.” Maria scowled at the ceiling. “Sometimes I wonder if he’s mute.”

“But you still like him.”

Her sister glared. “So what? At least I’m not engaged to a boy scout! Look at him, Delilah, he’s so squeaky clean he makes my teeth hurt.”

Delilah looked over at Alan who was talking with Ty about something. He saw her staring and smiled. “I like him. And we’re not engaged. We’re dating.”

“You brought him home,” Maria said accusingly. “Let me list the guys who have been introduced to the family: Noah, Tyler, and Alan.”

“And Aaron and Travys.” She sipped her hot cider. “And Martin.”

“Dad only met him because he had to come post bail for us,” Maria said. “It’s not the same.”

“You would have brought him home eventually.”

Maria rolled her eyes and sat up. “Maybe. But I was young and stupid then.” She glared at Alan. “Do you really think he’s good enough for you?”

“Do you really think he’s not?” Delilah challenged her.

Alan stood up and walked over to them. “Do you really think his hearing’s that bad?”

Maria’s eyes narrowed. “If you hurt my sister...”

“They’ll never find my body,” Alan finished for her. “Yes. I think I caught the gist of that threat the first time.” He twined his fingers with hers. “Do you know, you have a very over protective family, Love. I swear the only person who was excited to see me was your mother.”

“He’s cute! We should keep him!” Mom chimed from across the room.

Delilah put her cup to the side. “Let’s go for a walk.” She pulled Alan away from the festivities and into the winter darkness.

Blurb:

Bootleggers, drug dealers, crooked cops, and dirty politicians... Chicago has always had a reputation for indulging in the finer vices of life. That’s why Doctor Charm’s favorite daughter found America’s Second City so appealing; criminals are never boring. As second in command for the powerful Subrosa Security group, Delilah Samson finds opportunities to use her superpowers at every turn. Whether it’s stealing a priceless French painting from a mobster or stopping a drug deal, she’s game.

In fact, the only thing she doesn’t care for is Chicago’s favorite native son, Deputy Mayor Alan Adale, the man who made Lucifer jealous. Sinfully handsome, or possibly just sinful, Adale has been pursuing Delilah since she first arrived, and she’s been dodging.

When she finds ties between the new kingpin in town and a drug The Company wants to buy so they can create more superheroes, Delilah takes the gloves off. Teaming up with the spooky Spirit of Chicago, she aims to take down the dealers, the mobsters, the kingpin, and The Company. All without falling in love with the one man capable of capturing her heart.

Inkprint Press | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes | Book Foundry | Scribd |

Celebratory Snippets: The Pain Season by Libby Doyle #scifi #romance via @LibbyDoyle9

Today's snippet is from The Pain Season by Libby Doyle. Enjoy!

The Pain Season, Book II of the Covalent Series

by Libby Doyle

EXCERPT

Setting: A New Year’s Eve party thrown by my main characters. Zan is human, but Rainer Barakiel, her lover, is a being from another dimension known as a Covalent. Pellus and Jeduthan are Covalent as well.

THE PARTY turned into a jam session, there were so many musicians there. They drank all Rainer’s expensive liquor.     

Around 11:00, Rainer announced the yacht was out at the dock to take them to the fireworks.

“Can we bring the keg?” Jason asked to widespread laughter.

“The yacht has a full bar and a bartender.”

“You and Zan sure know how to throw a party, Rainer,” Scott said. He slapped him on the back.

Before long, Zan, Rainer, Pellus and Jeduthan were standing at the prow of the yacht in a cold wind, waiting for the fireworks. Everyone else had opted to watch from the glass-enclosed deck above them.

“Are you warm enough, my love?” Rainer asked Zan. He tightened his arms around her.

“Nice and toasty, honey. Hey, do think Pellus and Jeduthan are having fun?”

“Are you having fun, Pellus?” Rainer called across the prow.

“Yes. Jeduthan has told me she wishes there were boats where we come from.” He paused as Jeduthan said something. “And drunken hu—er—people. She has decided she likes them.”

They all laughed. In a minute, they heard an uproar from inside that signaled midnight had come. Zan leaned to the side and hung her head back.

“You’re supposed to kiss me at midnight.”

 “Oh, right,” Rainer said. He cupped her head in his giant hand and obliged. When she heard the first booms of the fireworks, Zan wasn’t entirely sure they weren’t in her head. She opened her eyes to see shimmering gold playing across the sky.

“Do you have fireworks in the Covalent Realm?” she asked.

“No, not like this, but we have phenomena with similar beauty. The Stream fills the horizon of our city, flashing in rich blue. Imagine a thousand shooting stars, their tails filled with diamonds and sapphires.”

Zan snuggled into him. “That sounds better than fireworks.”

“The Turning is astonishing to behold as well, like the aurora borealis, but purple and silver. Its streaks forever dance and rise from the ground in a glimmering wall of light. You can see it best from the ramparts, or the high terraces.”

“The Turning. That’s where you go to fight, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I get scared when I think about that,” she whispered.

“Your job is dangerous, too, Zan.”

“I know. It can be.”

Rainer found her hand and squeezed it. “For a Warrior of the Rising, the Turning is a feeling as well as a sight. Despite the peril we face there, few of us would trade our experiences. To feel the Turning’s power is not something I can adequately express in words.”

“I feel that way a lot myself these days.”

She leaned her head back for another kiss.

BLURB

On the night of the equinox, Zan O'Gara learns monsters are real.

When Zan can no longer deny her lover is hiding things, she confronts him. Rainer Barakiel assures her he will soon share his secrets but she dreads the day, afraid the love of her life is connected to a ritual murder. Her heart won’t allow her to believe he could harm an innocent man. The truth is worse than she could have imagined.

As Barakiel’s power as a Covalent warrior grows, so does the strength of his father’s obsession with him. Lucifer spreads his dark tendrils through the Earthly Realm using a network of depraved men, and Barakiel soon realizes his love has drawn a target on Zan’s back. Events at the autumnal equinox make this clear to Zan as well. Barakiel has lied to her.

And so begins a season of pain and rage. A season of traitors and war. And love. Like the elemental forces that made him, Barakiel’s love does not end.

"A commendable follow-up with otherworldly action, down-to-earth melodrama, and sensuality in between." — Kirkus Reviews

Warning: This book contains foul language, explicit sex, and violence. Adults only! The Pain Season is the second novel in a five-part series that is best read in order. The romantic science fantasy begins with The Passion Season, Book I of the Covalent Series. Learn more at Libby Doyle’s website.

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