Antonia Aquilante
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Rainbow Snippet March 25-26

3/25/2017

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your tbr. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

I'm continuing with sort of random snippets this weekend. This one is from The Scholar's Heart. Tristan's infant daughter has been kidnapped, and Etan is doing all he can to support and comfort Tristan.
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​Etan loosened his hold enough for Tristan to pull away, but Tristan didn’t go far, keeping his hands on Etan’s chest.


“How are you feeling?” It was a stupid question to ask, but confronted with Tristan’s pain-filled face, Etan didn’t know what to say.

“Not well. You?”

“Not very well either.” He smoothed Tristan’s hair back from his face. “Do you want to try to sleep some more?”

Tristan shook his head sharply almost before Etan finished asking the question. “Can’t. I don’t like the dreams." 



You can find out more about The Scholar's Heart here. And today only, The Scholar's Heart and the other Chronicles of Tournai books are 30% off at DSP in their fantasy and paranormal sale. Thanks for visiting and reading!
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Sale Today!

3/25/2017

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Today only Dreamspinner has put all of their fantasy and paranormal titles on sale, so the Chronicles of Tournai books are 30% off! Find them here.
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Guest Post: Don't Mess With His Pack by Thianna Durston

3/19/2017

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Thianna Durston is visiting to tell us about a new book today. Welcome, Thianna!
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Alpha Hunter Maison’s primary focus is to keep his wolf pack healthy and happy. But with humans encroaching, they need a way to shift without getting noticed. He knows the local feline pride has found a way to temper their inner animal and asks for their help. Finding a desire to submit to the gorgeous lion shifter is unsettling. Knowing he is his mate turns his world upside down.

Blaise Wylde has worked tirelessly for his pride his entire life. As owner and creator of Wylde KingDom, a BDSM club just for feline shifters, he knows the power that BDSM can wield for their inner animal. When Hunter asks him to help the Pack learn BDSM, he agrees, especially when his inner lion is instantly interested and Hunter turns out to be submissive to him.

Someone in the Pack is unhappy about their alpha being involved with ‘a cat’ and anger quickly escalates to attacks. As Blaise fights to protect his mate, Hunter must do the same, because while he’s trying to find his attacker, someone’s after Blaise and he may already be too late to stop him.

Heat Rating: High
Age range: 18+ only

Buy Don't Mess With His Pack:
A Thia Thing
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Guest Post

The felines have their own BDSM club. The wolves need a place to play. Can shifters of different species play together?

Welcome to the world of wolf shifters, feline shifters where kink keeps their inner animal satisfied.

Hiding in plain sight, shifters have been around for as long as humans have, but they’ve learned to blend in and not be noticed. They need a way to get out their wild side. Blaise Wylde started the kink club Wylde KingDom four years ago to allow his pride a space to let out their animal a little. It’s amazing how freeing BDSM can be. Their natural predatory aura scares most humans away and they haven’t had any kind of a challenge. But the Okanogan Pack lost their wild lands and now need a place to howl. Can felines and wolves play together?

This started as an image, a cover I created for no reason whatsoever. It’s the exact one that became the cover for Don’t Mess With His Pack. Looking at the lion and the man above him, for some reason I had this image in my head of the old TV show – Wild Kingdom. And that became Wylde KingDom in my head. The idea of feline and wolf shifters involved in BDSM took over and… the rest is history, right? :)

Excerpt

(Meet Hunter Maison)

Hunter strode around the circle, staying just within the barrier. The pads on his paws could feel each blade of grass underneath him. The breeze tickled his fur. But he paid attention to none of it. He stared at his opponent. Vito was tiring. He’d led the Pack for almost two centuries, but had lost what vitality he used to have. Hunter asked him several times to step down on his own, to do the honorable thing. But the old wolf was nothing if not stubborn. And full of himself. He believed the wolves were above everyone and that they needn’t bother with hiding themselves from the human factor. He was wrong. 

Humans encroached upon their lands with more frequency every year and the dratted satellites put them in danger of being spotted if they didn’t keep to the fully wooded areas. Hunter had done anything but challenge for two years, but Vito’s newest edict had been too much. He had made it known that the killing of humans who got in their way was now sanctioned.

Like hell.

Keeping humans unaware of their existence had been a part of Hunter’s training since he was a pup and there was no way he was going to let a wolf who had clearly lost his senses destroy the tentative peace they had. Which was why he issued the official challenge this morning. 

In his human form, Vito appeared much as he had since Hunter was born—like a robust man in his mid-fifties. But his wolf form told the tale of his years and his mental degradation. Part of his coat was missing, looking as though he’d chewed it off. His tail was ragged and hung loosely between his legs. His ears were covered in bumps and scratches. This was a wolf who had lost hold on the delicate balance every shifter danced on between animal and human. He was well on his way to madness.

It saddened Hunter that he was going to have to kill Vito, even if it was the most humane thing to do. Vito would just deteriorate further until he exposed their kind, likely killing innocent people in his path. He was no longer the warrior he once was. 

In the Okanogan Pack, there was only one ending to a challenge. One would win and the other would die. Hunter wasn’t going to drag this out. This wasn’t a show or a way to prove his mettle. He needed to end Vito and rid the Pack of the last few rulings. And he needed to do it now.

Hunter’s nails dug into the soft earth as he changed direction and charged. Vito turned his head, his eyes wide, pupils blown. He bared his teeth, saliva dripping off the tips, and lunged. Hunter leapt and turned his body, landing flat on top of Vito’s back as his jaws closed around his opponent’s throat. Vito snarled and howled, but the sound barely lasted a minute. Hunter’s teeth hit true and bit clear through his windpipe and carotid artery.

Blood filled his mouth but he had no desire to drink it. During a kill in his wolf form it was natural for his animal instincts to kick in, to drive him to rip the animal apart, drink its blood, and devour the meat. But this wasn’t for food. It was an act he had to do and he took no joy or satisfaction in it. When Vito went limp, Hunter instantly released him, backed up, and spat out what he could of the blood. 

Silence reigned around the circle. Due to Pack law, the eldest members of each Pack family were in attendance in their human form, there to give evidence to the winner. As soon as he backed away, two of Vito’s security detail rushed forward and checked their former alpha. It took a few seconds before they both rose to their feet. 

Ben Ryder, their doctor, turned toward Hunter, fell to his knees and bent his head in abject surrender to his new alpha. One by one, every member of the Pack did the same. When not one of them stood against him, Hunter stood on all fours and howled a lament. Vito might have turned, but he led their Pack for a long time and must be honored.



Question:
What is your favorite kind of paranormal creature?
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About the Author:

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Thianna Durston is a writer by day and supernova by night. Or at least that’s what the faeries tell her. And who is she to deny those pesky *cough* lovely little creatures?

She lives in the Pacific Northwest, though her heart belongs elsewhere. In the meantime, until she can return to the place she calls home, she happily lives in a city that still thinks it’s a small town. Thankfully, it has given her muse lots of amusing places to start a story.

Find her online:

Website / Blog / Newsletter / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Tumblr

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Rainbow Snippet March 18-19

3/18/2017

6 Comments

 
It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your tbr. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

​Another sort of random snippet this weekend, this one from The Artist's Masquerade. In this scene, Cathal has arrived home exhausted and dejected after a couple of difficult encounters to find Flavian waiting for him, and Flavian ends up keeping him company and taking care of Cathal, even though Flavian thinks it would probably be smarter if he left. But because he's Flavian, his sharp tongue will always make an appearance.
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​He took Cathal’s hand and led him into the bedchamber to the bed. Pulling back the blankets, he urged Cathal up onto the soft bed,
and once he was, Flavian pulled the blankets back over him.

“Are you tucking me in to sleep? When you mentioned bed, I thought you had something else in mind,” Cathal said with a flash of a smile.

Flavian narrowed his eyes in a glare. “I did, but I can just leave if you’d like.” 


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You can find out more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for stopping by today!
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Rainbow Snippet March 11-12

3/11/2017

7 Comments

 
It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your tbr. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

My lack of advance planning for Rainbow Snippets continues this week! I'm pushing to finish my wip, and some things are sliding even though I'm trying my best to stay on top of everything. I wasn't sure what I wanted to give you, but since I've just signed a contract for the fifth Tournai book, The Dragon's Devotion, I thought I would give you a bit from the first book in the series (not that you have to have read the first book to read any of the others!). So I grabbed The Prince's Consort off the shelf and opened to a random page. Here's the snippet I found for you:
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​“You didn’t need to demand a healer quite so forcefully. I really am all right,” Amory said gently. But he winced when Philip helped him out
of his sleeve.

“Imagine yourself in my position. You could have died, Amory. Today and a few days ago.” His voice broke, and he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. “Right in front of me." 


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Find out more about The Prince's Consort here. Thanks for stopping by and reading!
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Writing Updates and News

3/9/2017

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I have so much to tell you this month. In February, I participated in the NJ Romance Writers JeRoWriMo challenge and wrote a little over 40,000 words (the group as a whole wrote around 1.7 million words which is amazing!). That is much more than I've written in months so I was very happy with my progress. I'm trying to push through and keep the momentum going to finish the book this month. I wrote a little less than I'd like the first week of March, but I still wrote every day and made progress so I'll take it. Once I finish this wip, which of course doesn't have a title yet (I'm just referring to is by the character's names—Edmund and Arden—as I always do), I'm going to start on Tournai 6.

I also have exciting news for you. I've just signed a contract with NineStar Press to publish the fifth Tournai book, The Dragon's Devotion! The Dragon's Devotion is Bastien and Corentin's story, and it should be out in September. I'll keep you posted with any developments and share more about the book soon. For now, if you'd like a little glimpse of it, you can find snippets of Bastien and Corentin's first kiss here and then here.

A few other things: I was interviewed by Zara West on her blog yesterday. If you missed it, you can find the interview here. I'm talking about writing and inspiration from travel and what's on the horizon. In other news, I'll be at the Liberty States conference March 18th and 19th, signing/selling books on the 18th. If you're there, please say hi. I'd love to see you. And finally for now, next month, I'll be signing and selling books at Rainbow Book Fair in New York. Lots of fun stuff coming up!

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Rainbow Snippet March 4-5

3/4/2017

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets. The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your tbr. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ+.

How is it March already? February seems to have flown by! I didn't know what I wanted to snippet for you this weekend, so I finally decided to give you the six sentences that follow last week's snippet from the forthcoming fifth Tournai book, which is titled The Dragon's Devotion. 
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​Bastien made a small sound in his throat, and Corentin feared that he might pull away, but he only stepped in closer, one hand coming up to clutch the front of Corentin’s jacket. Corentin put his hands lightly on Bastien’s hips and continued the caress of his lips over Bastien’s, coaxing reactions out of Bastien with delight and drowning in the sensations himself. When was the last time he’d indulged in such slow, sumptuous kisses? He wanted them all the time now, but only with this man. He wanted more as well, so much more. Despite the fire building slowly inside him, he didn’t push for more because these kisses were perfect.

If you want to catch up on any of the other Tournai books, they're all 25% off at Dreamspinner this weekend. Thanks for stopping by and reading today!
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What I've Been Reading - February

3/3/2017

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Considering how much I threw myself into February's JeRoWriMo writing challenge, I'm a little surprised at how much I actually read last month! I'm sharing some that I really enjoyed—a few of which made me feel completely inadequate as a writer because they were just so wonderful. In addition to these, I also listened to Power Play by Avon Gale. I'd read it before and loved it, so it was fun to get a new perspective with the audio. Here are some books I enjoyed (and bonus shelfie of the bookcases near my desk!):

The Portland Heat series by Annabeth Albert: I've had this series on my Kindle for ages and hadn't read it (except for the Christmas story, Wrapped Together, which I adored), and I have no idea why it took me so long. These are short, sweet, and steamy, and absolutely what I was looking for.

Thick & Thin by Charlie Cochet: This is a short novella in the THIRDs series. It was a lot of fun but felt almost like an extended epilogue to the previous book in the series so it definitely doesn't stand alone. You need to start at the beginning with this fun series.

The Spires of Turris by Christine Danse: The best way I can describe this book is Indiana Jones in space. It's long and a bit slow in spots, but overall fun and intriguing. The romance barely began in this book but it seems to be the beginning of a series. I'm looking forward to the next.

Hard Wired by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell: I've been enjoying the Cyberlove series right along, and this third book is no exception. It can stand alone, but really, you want to read the first two books anyway.

Peter Darling by Austin Chant: I wasn't certain of this book when I first heard about it, but only because Peter Pan was never my favorite story. I read it anyway, and I'm so happy I did. It was a gorgeous, thought-provoking story filled with hope and joy, and also a fun fantasy and a lovely romance (enemies to lovers, Hook and Pan!). The ending was rather perfect. I devoured it on release and need to reread to savor it.

An Unseen Attraction by KJ Charles: I will read probably anything KJ Charles writes at this point and love it, so it was no surprise that I loved this book, the first in a new trilogy. I adored Clem and Rowley, who were far too good to be mixed up in such a mess. The romance is lovely and the mystery is twisty and intriguing. I can't wait for the next book!

Tournament of Losers by Megan Derr: This fantasy romance with a fairy tale feel to it was so much fun. I loved the tournament plot and Rath who just wanted a quiet life and his utterly charming romance with Tress.

Bitterwood by Rowan Speedwell: Another fantasy romance, as apparently I was in the mood for them last month. I was intrigued by the world in this book and the twists and turns kept me reading. There were also two romances in this book, one intense and the other sweet and rather adorable. I loved them both.

What have you read and loved lately? And what are you looking forward to?

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DSP Sale!

3/1/2017

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Dreamspinner's Author Workshop is this weekend (unfortunately, I won't be able to be there, but I hope everyone who will be has a wonderful time), so DSP is having a sale. The whole store, including my books, is 25% off through March 5th!
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    Antonia is a writer and a reader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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