Latest On The Nocturnal Nina Blog
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.
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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!
Nina Crespo presents Holiday Reads with Terri-Lynne DeFino
Johanna Coco is finally home in Bitterly, Connecticut, to attend her beloved grandmother’s funeral—only to be confronted by the very reason she’s stayed away to begin with–Charlie McCallan. Her high school sweetheart is now divorced, and no longer the skinny boy Johanna once loved. Hometown handsome and dependable as always, Charlie is the kind of man she needs to lean on as she and her sisters grapple with their grief—as well as the mystery of their long-missing mother, Carolina. But Johanna’s heart isn’t only haunted by her ghosts; it’s haunted by what happened between her and Charlie…
Charlie is determined to do things right this time, and he has to do it before Johanna vanishes from his life again. First he needs to prove to her that the past is past, and they can overcome it–no easy task when he’s up against the ghosts lingering in her life, trying to convince her that happily-ever-after is not in the cards for any of the catastrophe-prone Coco sisters, least of all Johanna. But her fearless first love is ready to do whatever it takes to win her back—ghosts be damned.
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About the Author
Terri-Lynne DeFino lives in a log cabin in Connecticut, but she’s a Jersey girl at heart. Writer, mother, cat wrangler, and self-proclaimed sparkle queen, Terri began writing when she was seven. Though that first story remains locked away in her parents’ attic, her more successful works include Finder, A Time Never Lived, and Beyond the Gate. Seeking Carolina is her first step into contemporary romantic fiction and is book one in The Bitterly Suite. Dreaming August releases in April 2016, and Waking Savannah in October 2016.
Nina Crespo presents Holiday Reads with Rebecca Brooks and Selena Fulton
One week of adventure might just lead to love…
Julia Evans has always put others ahead of herself—her high school math students, her troubled best friend, and her ex. But with New Year’s approaching, she buys a round trip ticket to Brazil. For one week, she can put her needs first. She can meet a stranger in the hotel pool at midnight and dance all night on the beach.
Screenwriter Blake Williams has to keep moving before Oz’s latest scandal catches up to him. But the dark-haired beauty with a backpack and an adventurous streak is messing with his plans. He can’t seem to walk away from her. But secrets have a way of coming out, and when the week is up, Julia and Blake will have to decide if they’re jumping into the biggest adventure of all or playing it safe.
Read an excerpt at http://www.entangledpublishing.com/how-to-fall/.
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About the Author
Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx. Her books are about independent women who leave their old lives behind in order to try something new—and find the passion, excitement, and purpose they didn’t even know they’d been missing.
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A single crystal slipper. It was probably the weirdest gift librarian Celinda Branham ever received during a Christmas gift exchange. Who would even wear these in the real world? Not Celinda, wearer of sensible shoes and fairy tale naysayer. That said, she certainly has the requisite wicked stepmother, irritating stepsister, and empty bank account. Of course, if she actually believed in all that fantastical junk, she could wait for her Prince Charming… Only Prince Charming doesn’t exist. But Preston Chandler believes in fairy tales. Oh, does he ever. All he did was spurn the advances of a certain witch, and now his sister is under a sleeping spell. And the only way to break it? Find the other glass slipper and give someone “Love’s First Kiss.” But when Preston finally tracks down Celinda, he’s dismayed to discover that the shy librarian who owns the other shoe has no interest in anything remotely resembling magic—including love. Now he must find a way into his Cinderella’s cynical heart, or lose his sister… and his only chance for true love.
About the Author
along the seashore, making jewelry, and reading. A multi-published author, she belongs to Romance Writers of America and First Coast Romance Writers where she has served as VP of Membership and Secretary. She believes in “paying it forward” by working with fellow authors in her critique groups and judging contests. She is also editor of Riverside Presbyterian Apartments monthly newsletter.