Latest On The Nocturnal Nina Blog
Nina Crespo presents Torch in the Forest by Marcie Kremer
Beautiful young widow, Countess Eleanor, believes wholeheartedly in her Blystoke family motto of Honor et Fides, honor and loyalty, and works hard to live up to it, taking care of her younger sister, Mary, and of all her late husband’s estates.
Recently returned from the Crusade, handsome and arrogant, Lord Hugh, believes no woman is to be trusted and lays the blame for all the poaching in their forests at Eleanor’s feet, certain she is incapable and too naïve and trusting, to boot.
They can neither trust nor deny their powerful attraction as they clash over land boundaries and thieves. Conspirators abound to wreak havoc and danger, but no conspirator is deadlier than their own hearts.
Excerpt
“There is no better paradise than having the sweetheart of one’s choice.” – Le Roman de la Rose, 13th c.
“Milady! Milady!” a voice called.
Startled, Eleanor dropped her embroidery in her lap. Her favorite servant, Agnes, face red and gasping for breath, burst through the doors into Eleanor’s bedchamber.
Eleanor smiled. “Yes, Agnes?” she asked, as the servant curtsied quickly.
“Oh, no! Where is it?” Agnes moaned, looking frantically through the basket she held over her arm.
Eleanor waited for Agnes to find whatever it was she was so anxious to find. Thank goodness no one else was in the room to see that she had—once again—allowed a servant to burst in unannounced. It wasn’t really quite proper. Of course, other people would look down on her for it. It was so hard, though, to try and remember everything that she should and shouldn’t do. So many rules! Just barely eighteen and a widow for two years, Eleanor had to keep reminding herself that she had to fulfill the role of who she was supposed to be, no matter how hard it sometimes was.
“I must have dropped it on the stairs!” Agnes moaned. “I must find it!” She curtsied again and fled through the doors. Eleanor could hear her exclamations echoing down the stairs. She picked up her embroidery off the floor, and she drifted back into her thoughts.
A role to fulfill? Well, she was Eleanor, Lady Strathcombe, widow of Edgar, Earl of Strathcombe, and mistress of her late husband’s lands, wasn’t she? She had an important position—at least, others certainly thought so—and she must behave accordingly.
But she certainly didn’t care about letting Agnes in unannounced. After all, ever since Eleanor had arrived at Strathcombe Castle four years ago as a nervous, scared bride of fourteen, Agnes had been steadfast and true to her, comforting her and calming her, especially after that first, and only, session in the bedchamber with Edgar—a session during which nothing had happened to change her from a maiden into a married woman. Eleanor shuddered, remembering her anguish at his humiliating treatment—treatment that she was sure real marriage and true love could have nothing to do with.
About the Author
Growing up in Europe and seeing castles on a daily basis made me sure I wanted to live back in the Middle Ages. Since that wasn’t likely to happen, being a child of the 20th century, the next best thing I could try to do was to write about this enthralling period in history. Having studied medieval history in college, I loved doing the research about how people really lived and spoke and dreamed and loved, and so TORCH IN THE FOREST came to be, thanks to my dear husband, who encouraged me to write about Eleanor and Hugh. When I’m not writing, I’m reading, or traveling. I love hearing from readers and am happy to do book club conference calls!
Nina Crespo presents Loving Lies by Tina Donahue
Deception knows no limits. Passion knows no bounds.
When she is kidnapped, Senorita Isabella knows the men have been sent by her uncle in a murderous attempt to control her family’s fortune. But when she is rescued by a dashing and mysterious warrior, Isabella can’t imagine why a stranger would risk his life for her—until she discovers her rescuer believes she’s someone else….
Fernando de Zayas loves nothing more than the cry of battle. Defying death is his way of life. But when he discovers his betrothed has been kidnapped, he rushes to her aid—never suspecting that spirited beauty would soothe his warrior heart…
With her uncle’s minions close on their heels, Isabella finds herself drawing closer to Fernando. But as the desire between them builds, her secret could keep them apart forever…
Excerpt
She weakened at his potent masculinity before her unease returned. Even if his manner was noble, was he also honorable? His eyes caressed and aroused, but did they belong to a man who was truly kind? Did his sensuous lips ever offer the truth? She was afraid to linger and find out. She twisted her arm, trying to free her wrist.
He tightened his grip and glanced at the orange. “I told you to eat.”
“Why? Is the fruit drugged?”
He blinked, obviously surprised, unless he was acting with the same skill he’d used when posing as a fakir.
“You taste it first.” She shoved the fruit at him. “Better yet, eat it all. I want none.”
“Who would if it was drugged? Tell me, why would I drug your food?”
To render her helpless. During her abduction, Isabella’s captors had forced her to drink a foul-tasting liquid to put her to sleep. By the time she awoke, she was in Granada, stripped, women preparing her for sale. Perhaps this man meant to violate her before bringing her back to Don Rodrigo. “You tell me.”
“How could I drug an orange you have yet to peel?”
“Perhaps you put the potion on the peel.”
“Are you always this disagreeable?”
“Don Fernando would know.”
He stared and shook his head. “Very well, you are disagreeable and probably always have been. Eat the orange on your own, unless you want me to feed it to you.”
“If you force me to eat it, your plan must be to drug me, as I want none of what you offer.”
His gaze dropped to her traitorous belly as it growled for any food, even his. “What a liar you are.” He took the fruit. “If I release you, will you promise not to flee?”
“Will you promise not to pursue me if I do?”
His smile was slow and filled with raw male lust. “I would run you down to the earth in a moment and take my pleasure with you.”
She went dizzy at the images his words created, ones she’d overheard married women discussing. His powerful body pressed against hers. His long fingers stroking her bared flesh. His stiffened shaft plundering and arousing. She flushed with excitement and fear, while prudence warned her to respond with casual indifference. “I give you my oath not to flee.”
He tapped his foot and, at last, released her wrist. Once he’d peeled the orange and separated the slices, he ate the first piece, no doubt to prove he hadn’t drugged the fruit, then slipped the next between her lips.
“Eat.” He drew his forefinger over her bottom lip where juice had spilled.
Her mouth tingled beneath his skilled move. She stopped chewing as he brought his finger to his lips and licked the tip slowly. Quite seductively.
“You must eat.” He ran his other forefinger beneath her chin.
Her throat quivered, his touch sending waves of delight clear to her scalp. She forgot to chew, swallowed fast, and inhaled deeply as he slipped the next slice between her lips. After she’d finished the piece, he licked the corners of her mouth, catching stray juice. Her lids slid down. His tongue was wonderfully hot, his breath so sweet she had to bite back a moan. She parted her lips inviting him to slip the next slice inside her mouth. Once she’d eaten it, he offered the next slice, and the next, pausing only to stroke her cheek and throat.
His exquisite touch and playful attitude made her want far more. How she hoped he wasn’t her uncle’s agent. How she wished he wasn’t Sancha’s betrothed. As one or the other was the only possibility, the moment the last piece was in her mouth and he recaptured her wrist, she refused to move forward.
“What now?” he asked.
About the Author
Tina Donahue is an Amazon and international bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Kensington, Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing, Booktrope, Luminosity, Decadent, and indie. Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic novels (Freeing the Beast, Come and Get Your Love, and Wicked Takeover) were Readers’ Choice Award winners. Another three (Adored, Lush Velvet Nights, and Deep, Dark, Delicious) were named finalists in the EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic contemporary romance, was chosen Book of the Year at the French review site Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. Two of her titles (The Yearning and Deep, Dark, Delicious) received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. Take Me Away and Adored both won second place in the NEC RWA contest (different years). Tina is featured in the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked at a major Hollywood production company in Story Direction.
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Nina Crespo presents The Deepest Well by Juliette Cross
Love can stand the test of time. Can it rise above the taint of Hell?
Lady Katherine Blakely is married to a monster. On the same night she witnesses how low her husband can sink, she meets a charming stranger, a gentleman from top to toe. Yet even her gallant rescuer is possessed of a dark side.
Lord George Draconis Thornton, commander of the Dominus Daemonum, is on a mission to expel the demon prince Damas back to the underworld. But a golden-haired beauty derails his plans and stirs an attraction he’s never felt before, not even for his centuries-dead wife.
Discovering Lord Blakely is in league with Damas, George sweeps Katherine away from the chaos and devilry threatening her life. With every touch, their love grows by joyful leaps and bounds.
Sensing his enemy’s vulnerability, Damas kidnaps Katherine to his hellish lair, where he wages a sensual assault on her defenses. As George tears at heaven and earth to find her, he is painfully aware of only one way to save her soul. The cost will break her heart…and destroy his own.
Warning: Contains wolves in gentlemen’s clothing, a precipitous descent into Hell, and a frightening glimpse of a post-apocalyptic world where angels and demons wage war for dominion on earth.
Excerpt
“How do you know about the world of demons, George? How did you move as they did? I thought I had fainted by the pond and awakened beside the barn, but I didn’t, did I?”
Had she imagined being transported from the horses to the barn in a long blink?
“No, you didn’t faint. It’s called sifting. A power of the angels, to move from place to place at will.”
“But they weren’t angels.”
“They were once.”
Fallen angels. Could this be possible? What did that make the man standing before her? He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Perhaps I should define the two realms for you.”
“That would be lovely.”
His mouth quirked at her sarcasm, though he chose not to comment. “There is the Flamma of Light and the Flamma of Dark.”
“Flamma?”
“Fire, in Latin, which is the common tongue between the heavenly and demonic hosts.”
She pulled her hand from his and stood, staring into the flames. “Why fire?”
He joined her and removed his wet coat. “I asked the same question once.” He winced as he peeled the coat off his right arm. A pool of red had soaked through his undershirt.
“Oh God, your arm, George. You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.”
Just as he had unbuttoned her jacket, she swiftly unfastened his waistcoat, then his shirt and peeled them off him. Steering her gaze away from his finely sculpted chest and broad shoulders, she examined the cut more closely. She bent over and, with a quick rip, tore a long strip from her shift.
“You needn’t do that, Katherine.”
“Be still and let me mend you as best I can.”
He held his arm straight so that she could wrap the fabric around his arm.
“Why fire?” she asked again, busying herself with the makeshift bandage.
“Flamma are all touched by fire, an otherworldly power given to each of us.”
She remembered the way he moved, the way the demons moved, with supernatural speed and agility. A drop of rain dripped from his tousled hair, landing on his shoulder before rolling forward. She followed its path as it slid down and over his pectoral. Trying to regain her composure, she inhaled a deep breath, which was a mistake. She breathed in the heady scent of rain and beautiful man, her agitation amplified by his proximity and the undeniable power surging through his body. She longed to touch him, to know what all that strength would feel like under her fingertips, but she was paralyzed by her own desire and wavered on a dangerous precipice. When she’d cinched the bandage into a neat knot and finally chanced a glance at him, his smile nearly buckled her knees.
“There,” she whispered. “That will stop the bleeding.”
“I’m not so sure.”
“What do you mean?”
His shoulders went rigid as if he were holding himself in tight control. Katherine knew his thoughts had wandered away from the wound in his arm. She asked again, “What do you mean, George?”
His eyes slid closed. “I love to hear my name on your lips.” He opened his eyes again, his jaw set in grave lines. “What I mean, my lady, is that I am bleeding inwardly, and I know of only one way to stop it.”
Katherine was well aware of the tension filling the room, of the rise of her heart rate, of the longing in his gaze, which surely matched her own. She realized she was tumbling over that cliff. And she didn’t care, quite content to drown in his aquamarine gaze.
“How can I stop it, George? Tell me.”
“I’d rather show you.”
About the Author
Juliette is a multi-published author of paranormal and urban fantasy romance. She calls lush, moss-laden Louisiana home, where the landscape curls into her imagination, creating mystical settings for her stories. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance–brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. Even then, she not only longed to read more books set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
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Click on the link to enter Juliette’s new release giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ba112ffc1272
• $25 Amazon Gift Certificate
• $10 Amazon Gift Certificate
• Signed Print copy of FORGED IN FIRE
Nina’s Got News!
Hello! I hope January was a great start to the new year. I’ve been busy finishing the last book in The Song series, but I can’t wait to share my upcoming release, REID’S DELIVERANCE, on March 15, 2016.
What’s on the horizon? You’ll be the first to know as soon as I have the details. Recently, I read a quote that resonated with me as I think about the future —“Be Open to Whatever Comes Next”. I’m open to learning more, meeting new people, and receiving opportunities beyond my imagination! I’m looking forward to pushing past my upper limit and becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable as I stretch myself beyond the same old thing. Something great happening in your future? Feel free to share your good news in the comment section.
If you didn’t receive my newsletter with the latest 3 SIZZLING HOT DEALS AND EVENTS, click here to find out what you missed.
I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, enjoy all the good that’s coming your way!
Nina
Nina Crespo presents Stranger at My Door by Mari Manning
In stiletto heels and painted on jeans, the notorious Dinah Pittman sashays into El Royo, Texas, to bury her father, a local ex-cop who died in prison without revealing the whereabouts of the money he stole eight years earlier.
After losing his fiancée and his nerve to a drug bust gone wrong, Rafe Morales has returned to El Royo and joined the local police force, looking for a fresh start and a nice girl to settle down with.
When the two men who testified against Dinah’s father turn up dead, Rafe and Dinah are thrown together. While wrestling with his psychic wounds, Rafe must also juggle his growing attraction to Dinah with his duty to protect her from a murderer. As Dinah pushes toward the truth about the robbery and her father’s guilt, she must also face some hard facts about herself and her life to earn Rafe’s love.
Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon CA
About the Author
I have always wanted to write romance novels. Well, at least since I was sixteen. Then it took another 25 years or so before I actually put pen to paper. (There were careers to start and kids to raise, houses to keep and dinner to cook.) It took six years to write the first one. I loved it, but I was alone in my delight. I decided to write another. This one took about the same amount of time. I sent it off to editors and agents. No one wanted it . . . but it was chosen as a Writing with the Stars book for RT.
What an experience that was! To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I’d spent so many years in my little office writing, it had never occured to me that the world of romance publishing was a sophisticated bit of marketing and commerce with a core of artistic endeavor inside. Like a Tootsie Roll Pop.
By the way, I was cut in the first round of Writing with the Stars. Ah well.
Since then, I’ve joined Romance Writers of America and the Chicago North RWA chapter. The members of Chicago North have been amazing. They are truly committed to helping other writers, and twice a month we meet to discuss opportunities and triumphs, as well as disappointments. I have learned so much, and I hope some day I will be able to give back as much as I learned.
I sold my first book, Holding Out for a Hero in February 2012 It is a contemporary romance with a little suspense. My second book, Angel Without Wings was release in 2013. Also contemporary romance with a little suspense.
I’ve been very busy since then on a three-book series of romantic suspense set in the hill country of Texas. The first, Stranger at My Door, was released from Entangled Publishing on August 18. The second Stranger in My House will debut this coming December. Fingers crossed, I am hoping the third, Stranger in My Bed, will also be published by Entangled.
A Naughty New Year…Brazen Style
Today, I’m at Ramblings from This Chick Blogspot sharing a FREE short story based on Tab And Drew from NAUGHTY LITTLE WISHES. It was fun to revisit two characters I love. I also updated the relationship status of Jasmine and Ethan from TAKE ME IF YOU DARE.
One of things on my list this year is to dive into another contemporary series. I’ve literally been dreaming about my new characters. Stay connected and be one of the first to meet them in 2016. In the meantime enjoy THE NEW YEAR’S DARE and the other stories posted for the event. Also, don’t forget to enter the awesome giveaways and to enjoy all the enjoyable things that happen at night!
