Over The Edge Reviews

Contest : The Dragonfire Series: KISS OF FIRE by Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke

2012-01-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780451223272
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Publication date: 2/5/2008
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 117,036
Age range: 18 years
Series: Dragonfire Series, #1
Product dimensions: 4.46 (w) x 6.80 (h) x 0.95 (d)
Order: Barnes & Noble

Overview
For millennia, the shape-shifting dragon warriors known as the Pyr have commanded the four elements and guarded the earth's treasures. But now the final reckoning between the Pyr, who count humans among the earth's treasures, and the Slayers, who would eradicate both humans and the Pyr who protect them, is about to begin...

When Sara Keegan decides to settle down and run her quirky aunt's New Age bookstore, she's not looking for adventure. She doesn't believe in fate or the magic of the tarot-but when she's saved from a vicious attack by a man who has the ability to turn into a fire-breathing dragon, she questions whether she's losing her mind-or about to lose her heart...

Quinn Tyrrell has long been distrustful of his fellow Pyr and a self-reliant loner. So when he feels the firestorm that signals his destined mate, he's determined to protect and possess Sara, regardless of the cost to himself. Then Sara's true destiny is revealed-and Quinn realizes he must risk everything- even Sara's love-to fulfill their entwined fates...

Meet the Author

Deborah Cooke has written more than thirty romance novels. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing, or hunting for vintage patterns.www.deborahcooke.com

Excerpt from KISS OF FIRE

The reckoning had begun.

All around the world, gazes turned skyward for the total lunar eclipse. Not everyone realized that it was the first eclipse of a new cycle, that it was the beginning of an age of reconcilation and reckoning.

There were thirteen who knew.

No sooner had the shadow of the earth passed over the full moon than the first six met in the quiet reaches of southern Libya. The moon glowed red and unnatural, as unnatural as many might have found the sight of the dragons circling out of the darkened sky. The dragons gathered silently, as prearranged, honoring custom. They landed unobserved beneath the path of the eclipse.

There was no need for conversation: the process of ordination had taught them their responsibility, though none had known whether they would be summoned until now. Dread and anticipation mingled in one of the eldest, Donovan, as he watched his fellows arrive. He didn’t like foretold events, didn’t like the sense they always gave him that there was more controlling his future than his own will. Heat rose from the sand underfoot and the sky appeared to be stained with blood.

Erik arrived last, his onyx and pewter figure casting an erie shadow as he wheeled with confidence out of the sky. He carried a black velvet sack, moving as if it weighed nothing. Donovan knew that sack’s contents and the weight of the burden Erik carried.

The blessing was murmured in old-speak by all of them, even skeptical Donovan. The bag’s cord was loosed to reveal the treasure of their kind, still nestled in the shadowed interior. The Dragon’s Egg was as dark as night, as fathomless as obsidian, and the surface of the stone gleamed as if wet.

The sight of it gave Donovan the creeps.

“It’s not working,” Niall said with alarm. He was young, and more inclined to panic.

“Nonsense. It must taste the moon’s light,” Erik said, impatient with doubt. “Give it room.” The others withdrew slightly and Donovan restrained the urge to destroy the sacred relic. It was older than any of them, mysterious and potent, and to his thinking, it brought more trouble than it solved.

Erik spun the Dragon’s Egg three times, requested an augury of the Great Wyvern, and released it. The stone spun like a top across the hot sand. When it came to a halt, the six clustered closer, as close as Erik would permit.

For a long moment, only the reflection of the moon’s red glow was visible in the orb. The eclipse was already progressing - if Erik felt the press of time passing, he gave no outward sign. Their leader was as cool and composed as always, as confident as Donovan had always known him to be.

Donovan was impatient and inclined to prod the stone. Before he could move, though, the orb sparkled, as if lit from the inside. Lines of gold appeared in the darkness, running across and around its surface.

“First it traces the planet,” Rafferty said, for those who had not witnessed the marvel before. The outline of continents appeared, as if drawn in gold by a frantic mapsmith.

“North America,” said Donovan, recognizing the shape of the continent displayed on the top. He sighed. “It figures. Why can’t we ever be dispatched to Italy, where the women are gorgeous, or some South Sea island where they’re naked?”

“Silence!” Erik commanded.

Nothing happened after the continents were drawn although the shadow of the earth moved relentlessly across the full moon.

Then suddenly finer hairlines appeared on the Dragon’s Egg, straight lines of force, and the six exhaled in relief. The leylines could have been lines of longitude and latitude, because they triangulated a precise location. What they really marked was lines of energy, earth energy, energy that might as well have been Roman roads for the readiness with which Donovan and his kind could follow them.

The lines targeted the nexus where the next firestorm would begin. The leylines glowed briefly as they made a conjunction and the six leaned closer, anxious to read the location before the gleaming lines faded to darkness.

“Ann Arbor,” Erik murmured, his old-speak echoing in the thoughts of his fellows with authority. “I will go.”

“I will be your second, if you wish it,” Donovan said, speaking out of some impulse he could not name.

“You will all second me,” Erik declared and Donovan felt a frisson of alarm pass through the group. He exchanged a glance of understanding with Rafferty, knowing that the old prophecy must be correct for Erik to make such a demand.

The final battle had come.

And the world would ever be the same again.

©2006 Claire Delacroix, Inc.

~CONTEST~

All week long OTER spotlighted award-winning author Deborah Cooke. Today is our final installment and what better way to end this fantastic week than with Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke's first release KISS OF FIRE from her phenomenal Dragonfire series

THE PRIZE: Two lucky reader will have the chance to win the either first two titles, FLYING BLIND and WINGING IT from Cooke's The Dragon Diaries or FLASHFIRE and KISS OF FIRE book seven (7) and one (1).

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Monday Question: Dragons by nature are what?

Tuesday Question: Who is the Keeper of the Covenant?

Wednesday Question: Who is Megan (Zoe's best friend) massively crushing on?

Thursday Question: Do you like reading stories about dragons? Have you ever imagined being a dragon - or a dragon shape shifter? What do you think would be the best thing about being a dragon?

Friday Question: What is a Firestorm?

Saturday Questions: What has begun? What is in the black velvet sack that Erik is carrying?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Contest : The Dragonfire Series: FLASHFIRE by Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke

2012-01-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780451235473
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Publication date: 1/3/2012
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 416
Sales rank: 25,656
Series: Dragonfire Series, #7
Product dimensions: 4.28 (w) x 8.46 (h) x 1.14 (d)
Order: Barnes & Noble

Overview

Master illusionist Lorenzo wants nothing to do with the Pyr.
His dragon nature is just another secret to hide and another detail to juggle, like ensuring that each of his Las Vegas magic shows is a true spectacle. Until he feels the burn of his firestorm and his whole world shifts....

Cassie Redmond is tired of photographing celebrities. She wants to pursue her dream of serious photography—despite the lucrative offer for a shot of a dragon shifter. Las Vegas is the last place she wants to be, but Lorenzo arouses more than her curiosity when he shifts shape as the finale of his show. Instead of forcing him to reveal his secrets, Cassie gets swept away by this illusionist’s masterful touch.

Lorenzo wants to satisfy the firestorm and put it behind him. But Cassie is hard to forget—and he can’t ignore the danger when Slayers target the mate Lorenzo didn’t believe he wanted....

Meet the Author

Deborah Cooke has written more than thirty romance novels. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing, or hunting for vintage patterns.www.deborahcooke.com

An Excerpt from FLASHFIRE

Lorenzo was irritated. He pulled into his parking spot behind the theater and flung himself out of the car. He locked and armed it without a second thought, his hand on the stage door before the car had given its last beep of acquiescence.

Fred was there, sweeping the door open for him with his usual flourish.

At least something was going right.

Lorenzo hated being late. A lack of time before his performance compromised his routine of calming himself before the show. That lack of composure could lead to mistakes. He took the pricing of the tickets to his shows very seriously - he was determined to give each attendee the value he or she had paid for. And that meant a perfect show, each and every time.

Perfect consistency. Perfect timing. Perfect showmanship. The way he saw it, he and the humans made an exchange: two and a half hours of magical perfection for $150 a seat.

Perfection was only possible with no stress.

Unfortunately, everyone around him seemed determined to generate stress by the megaton.

One more matinee. Three more evening shows. Then the launch of the spectacle, and he’d be done.

Free.

He was counting down the moments.

Lorenzo marched to his dressing room and slammed the door, pressing his fingertips against his temples. He needed to calm himself. He was edgy. Ready to lose it.

Of course, there’d been that argument today at the house, the completely unnecessary drama of his father shifting shape right in front of the staff, and the subsequent need to terminate all employees at the house.

All Lorenzo had done was ask his father what had happened to the darkfire crystal.

Again.

It was still missing. Lorenzo had promised to hold it in trust and he had kept his word – until he’d had a funny feeling six months before and checked for the crystal. It had been gone.

Failing to keep his pledge worried Lorenzo. What would the Pyr ask of him in exchange for his loss of the stone? It was imperative that he have no more ties to his kind after Saturday.

Only Lorenzo and Salvatore had access to the hoard, which was secured at the house. Therefore Salvatore must know what happened to it since Lorenzo didn’t. But his father had been evasive and confused every time Lorenzo had asked after the crystal - Lorenzo was certain it had been an act, especially since his father had abruptly shifted shape in the middle of their dispute and gone to sleep.

Of course, the housekeeper and her husband witnessed the shift, undoubtedly Salvatore’s plan. They would never truly forget seeing a dragon shape shifter in his living room. Lorenzo regretted losing them after so many years of good service, especially due to some game of his father’s, although he had paid a hefty severance to each.

Plus the pair had had to be beguiled before they left his employment, for their own safety and psychological well-being. Now he had to find another couple willing to work for him under his terms, and only for a few days. It was all very time-consuming and extremely annoying.

Lorenzo couldn’t help suspecting that his father was deliberately making problems for him.

Instead of just being old, confused and generally impossible.

Never mind that there were technical issues with Lorenzo’s final spectacle, a feat of daring that relied upon precise preparation. The modifications to the car were not quite as he had insisted, and he’d have to discuss it with the mechanic again. If Lorenzo had had a dollar for every incompetent human with whom he’d been obliged to work in the past five centuries, he’d be a multi-millionaire.

He was one anyway, but he’d earned that money.

And now the eclipse. He could feel it. It had nothing to do with him, because he had nothing to do with his fellow Pyr, so it infuriated him that he was sensitive to total lunar eclipses at all. What did he care if another Pyr had a firestorm? What did he care if another Pyr met his destined mate and conceived another dragon shape shifter? They were just more Pyr for Lorenzo to ignore.

Lorenzo had work to do and money to make and obligations to fulfill. He would have appreciated the other Pyr ignoring him as thoroughly as he ignored them.

It would only have been polite for the moon to have chosen to not send him notice. But the pending eclipse teased at the edge of his consciousness, making him feel on the cusp of change.

Involuntarily.

Lorenzo hated everything that was involuntary.

And he hated being Pyr.

Becoming a dragon was barbaric and primitive. Never mind the fighting, the slashing and ripping and biting. He shuddered.

In this moment, Lorenzo had to focus. He preferred evening shows, but that wasn’t relevant. Two thousand people had just paid top dollar to see his afternoon performance.

And they would leave his custom-built theater happy.

Lorenzo did his breathing exercises and deliberately lowered his pulse. He steadied himself as well as he was able, under the circumstances, and prayed that all the preparations had been done correctly. On this day, he’d take heads if there was anything less than perfect. He dressed alone, as always, then squared his shoulders and considered his reflection.

He wasn’t holding up too badly. He didn’t look a day past three hundred years old.

Or in human terms, a day past thirty-five.

The tuxedo fit him beautifully, but that was the mark of a good bespoke tailor. It reassured him to look so polished.

Appearances were critical. He straightened his bow tie with a tweak. He swirled the black cape he favored as he swung it over his shoulders. As usual, the glimpse of its orange satin lining lifted his spirits. So beautiful. So elegant. So unexpected. He adored that cape.

Lorenzo scooped up his top hat and turned with a flourish. He strode to the door, leaving his dressing room with purpose.

He checked the props and the staff, hearing the chatter of the audience gathered behind the heavy velvet drapes. He felt the familiar tingle that he always felt before a performance - part nerves, part anticipation, part terror.

The lights began to dim. The music began to play.

Show time.

***

Cassie had to hand it to this Lorenzo guy. The theater was incredible. He hadn’t skimped at all. There was nothing tawdry or tacky about it. The interior was gorgeous and elegant, far more luxurious than any of the other venues they’d visited or glimpsed.

The seats were cushy and upholstered in black velvet. They were scrupulously clean, as if they’d been upholstered just that day. The carpet was black and thick underfoot, unstained as far as she could see. There wasn’t so much as a stray kernel of popcorn. The curtains on the stage looked like real velvet, black with a line of metallic orange along the hem.

That line etched the glittering outline of flames.

Trial by fire. She got it.

There were sconces spaced along the walls, each looking like a brass bowl that held a flame. Of course, they couldn’t have been real flames, not with fire codes, but they looked real. The temperature in the theater was cool but not cold. It felt like a refuge, both from commercialism and the noisy bustle of Vegas.

She listened to the audience as they took their seats and murmured to each other. She felt their wonder and knew that Lorenzo had them believing in him even before he began his show.

Cassie folded her arms across her chest, less willing to be persuaded. All of this magic stuff relied on trickery, on making people look left when things happened on the right, for example. She was determined to see the truth of whatever this guy did.

Her Blackberry vibrated again and she glanced at it. Again they had doubled the price they’d pay for shots of those shape shifting dragons. Melissa Smith’s television show about the Pyr must have really good ratings. Cassie scrolled through the message, eying the specifications for what they wanted.

A suite of shots, documenting the change from man to dragon.

That would be tough to fake.

Unless, of course, the Pyr were real.

Cassie dismissed that possibility. She wondered what the editor would pay for proof that the Pyr were a hoax. Well aware of Stacy’s disapproval, Cassie sent a message to ask.

Her Blackberry received a reply almost instantly. This story was hot. She wasn’t totally surprised that the editor would pay the same price for proof of a hoax, but was surprised that the price had increased again.

But where would a person find one of these dragon shifters?

“Off,” Stacy muttered. “You promised.”

Cassie turned off the device and put it away. It would be enough money to retire. To leave the business of illusion for good.

She was surprised by how appealing that idea sounded.

Cassie was still thinking about that money as the lights began to dim and music started from all sides. The flames in the sconces leapt higher and that line across the bottom of the stage curtains began to glitter.

As if it were burning.

A trick, but a good one.

If she were a dragon shifter, where would she hide?

Maybe, just maybe, in a place where nothing was what it seemed to be.

A place like Las Vegas.

Hmm.

***

Lorenzo nodded at his staff and strode to his place at center stage, where he would await the rising of the curtains. He fought his awareness of the slow burn of the eclipse, teasing at the edge of his thoughts. He felt the firestorm light for some poor Pyr and ignored it, just as he had a hundred times before.

Even though it was close.

It was not his problem.

Lorenzo was in the act of donning his top hat when the music swelled. One pair of curtains swept back and the other curtain rose skyward.

Right on cue.

Perfect.

The audience stared at him in expectant awe. Lorenzo had a moment to think that everything would be just fine.

Then he raised his hand in a welcoming gesture, and the light of his own firestorm sparked from his fingertips.

Lorenzo was astounded.

His firestorm launched an arc of fire that illuminated the space between himself and a woman in the front row. She was lit suddenly with radiant golden light.

The audience gasped.

Lorenzo wanted to swear.

The woman had been sitting with her arms folded across her chest, reluctant to be impressed. Her skepticism would have made his eye skip over her under other circumstances. The blonde beside her was more typical of the women Lorenzo took as lovers.

But the bright glimmer of the spark startled her.

And it compelled Lorenzo to look. Her bones were good. She could have been attractive if she’d chosen to do anything other than tug her hair back into a sloppy ponytail. She wore no make-up and was dressed in jeans, a cotton shirt and hideous red cowboy boots.

Lorenzo couldn’t stand cowboy boots.

Even on cowboys.

Women certainly shouldn’t dress like cowboys, not if they wanted to show their assets to advantage. Women should wear skirts and high heels, lacy little bits of nothing and lipstick. They had serious assets and they should use them.

This woman apparently didn’t bother. Her hair was reddish blond, her skin fair. She jumped when the spark struck her shoulder, and the golden light revealed that she was young and pretty. There was intelligence in her expression, wariness and interest mingled together.

Despite that, there couldn’t be a woman on the face of the earth who he was less likely to find intriguing. She seemed to feel the same way about him. Lorenzo didn’t find it promising that they had that one thing in common.

Meanwhile, he smiled at the crowd and bowed, as though everything were going according to plan.

Far from it! Curse the firestorm, its timing and its choices. Curse his Pyr nature and everything that came with it.

Lorenzo was just going to have to work with the firestorm.

Somehow.

excerpt ©2011 Deborah A. Cooke

~CONTEST~

All this week OTER will be spotlighting award-winning author Deborah Cooke. Today we have Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke's January 3, 2012 signet Eclipse release, FLASHFIRE, the 7th installment in Cooke's phenomenal Dragonfire series

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Monday Question: Dragons by nature are what?

Tuesday Question: Who is the Keeper of the Covenant?

Wednesday Question: Who is Megan (Zoe's best friend) massively crushing on?

Thursday Question: Do you like reading stories about dragons? Have you ever imagined being a dragon - or a dragon shape shifter? What do you think would be the best thing about being a dragon?

Friday Question: What is a Firestorm?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Contest & Spotlight Post: Dragons, Dragons EVERYWHERE! by Deborah Cooke

2012-01-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

Dragons, Dragons EVERYWHERE!

by Deborah Cooke

I've always been a big fan of dragons but over the past few years, a lot more of them have taken up residence in my office. Even better, these dragons are dragon shape shifter heroes, known as the Pyr. So, they're gorgeous hunks in human form, and powerful dragons in their other form. This works for me in a big way!

So, come over to my Dragonfire world and let me show you around.

First of all, those dragon shape shifter heroes in my Dragonfire series of paranormal romances. My dragon shifters are an ancient race called the Pyr, who are long-lived but not immortal. Once in his lifetime, a Pyr will have his firestorm - this is the moment he meets the human woman who can bear his son. Sparks fly when they meet and the firestorm gets them both all hot and bothered. The firestorm is all about biology, but it's seldom that simple for my dragon dudes. Each one has to explain the firestorm to the heroine in question, seduce her and simultaneously defend her from the bad dragon shifters - called Slayers - who are drawn to the firestorm, like, well, moths to the flame. These books are action-packed and sexy. There's also an over-arching storyline because the Pyr and the Slayers are in a battle for control of the treasure that is the earth. The Pyr see humans as part of the treasure (the firestorm might affect their thinking) while the Slayers - who do not get firestorms - see humans as a threat to the earth. Slayers would be just as happy to eliminate both Pyr and humans, and keep Earth for themselves.

This month, FLASHFIRE, which is Dragonfire #7, was published. Lorenzo is my first "bad boy" dragon - the Pyr who have had firestorms to date have been pretty noble guys. Their issue was with permanent commitment, or with joining the other Pyr, or with the sharing of their big secret with the woman who was stealing their heart away. Lorenzo, in contrast, has no desire to be a dragon shifter anymore. He has a plan to ditch that side of his nature for good - as a stage illusionist, he's planning on a last big disappearing act. Of course, Lorenzo isn't counting on the firestorm, and he isn't counting on the passion and persistence of Cassie Redmond, his destined mate. These two were a lot of fun and I enjoyed writing about their battle of wills. Next up for Dragonfire is EMBER'S KISS, coming in October. (You can read more about Dragonfire on my website http://www.deborahcooke.com)

I also have a spin-off YA paranormal series called The Dragon Diaries. Although most of the Pyr are male, at any given time, there is one female dragon shifter. She's called the Wyvern and has special powers. Small spoiler alert right here, just so you're warned. The Wyvern at the beginning of the Dragonfire series died in book #3, KISS OF FATE. You'll have to read the book to find out how and why. The point here is that the child conceived during that firestorm turned out to be a girl. Her dad, Erik (who is the leader of the Pyr) assumed that she must be the new Wyvern. The male Pyr, though, come into their dragon powers at puberty - until then, they're indistinguishable from human boys. Once I realized that Zoë would come into her dragon powers right when she was already in the midst of wrestling with school and mean girls and keeping the faith with her best friend forever, I knew her story would be amazing to write. Zoë's coming-of-age is complicated by the fact that no one knows much about the Wyvern's special powers or how she develops them, and the only Wyvern she's heard of is dead.

Just to keep Zoë's life complicated, Erik invented the Covenant, which forbids all of the Pyr from revealing themselves in both human and dragon form to any human, without prior authorization from him. This means Zoë can't confide in her friend Meagan when her powers start to reveal themselves. I also reinvigorated an old enemy of the Pyr, one that only Zoë and the other teenage dragons believe is a threat. Again, there's a lot of action in these books - it seems to come with the territory when there are dragons in the vicinity! - and there's a hot guy with a motorcycle named Jared, who runs hot and cold with Zoë, kisses like a god, and somehow knows more about dragons than she does.

WINGING IT, the second book in Zoë's trilogy, was published in December and book #3, BLAZING THE TRAIL, will be out in June. You can read more about the Dragon Diaries on my website http://www.thedragondiaries.com

So, tell me, do you like reading stories about dragons? Have you ever imagined being a dragon - or a dragon shape shifter? What do you think would be the best thing about being a dragon? Me, I'd like to be able to fly. I have that in common with Zoë - but she also has an Incinerate Now list.

~CONTEST~

All this week OTER will be spotlighting award-winning author Deborah Cooke. Today we have Spotlight Author, herself, Deborah Cook dropping by to chat about Dreagons, Dragons, EVERYWHERE. Please make her feel welcome. =)

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Monday Question: Dragons by nature are what?

Tuesday Question: Who is the Keeper of the Covenant?

Wednesday Question: Who is Megan (Zoe's best friend) massively crushing on?

Thursday Question: Do you like reading stories about dragons? Have you ever imagined being a dragon - or a dragon shape shifter? What do you think would be the best thing about being a dragon?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Contest: The Dragon Diaries: BLAZING THE TRAIL by Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke

2012-01-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

Product Details
ISBN-13: 9780451236821
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Publication date: 6/5/2012
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 519,313
Age range: 12 - 17 Years
Series: Dragon Diaries Series, #3
Product dimensions: 5.25 (w) x 8.25 (h) x 0.60 (d)
Order: Barnes & Noble

"Zoe is a wonderful heroine--smart, strong and sympathetic.
Bring on book two!" Kelley Armstrong
#1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Awakening

It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and Zoë Sorensson’s love life is heating up. Cute, loyal, and understanding, wolf shifter Derek is pretty much the perfect guy. He likes Zoë, and he knows what it’s like to have to keep a secret. Yet, Zoë can’t help but wish it was rebel rocker Jared asking her to the Valentine’s dance instead. But Jared’s too busy playing hot and cold with her heart, calling Zoë his dragon girl one minute and then taking special interest in her best friend the next.

Zoë is just about ready to breathe fire, especially once she uncovers a new threat that targets her friends. Although Zoë thought the Mages were defeated, they’re back and have invoked an old spell to give them new power – they plan to eliminate all shape shifters on the night of the big dance. Now, Zoë must lead an alliance of young shifters to battle the Mages and figure out exactly what – and who – she wants, before it all goes up in smoke…

Meet the Author

Deborah Cooke has written more than thirty romance novels. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing, or hunting for vintage patterns.www.deborahcooke.com

An excerpt from BLAZING THE TRAIL

Chapter One
February 11, 2025

It was Tuesday, the day that stretches so long that you start to think the weekend will never ever come, and I was actually hoping the weekend wouldn’t ever arrive. I’d avoided my locker all day, ducking the inevitable, but when the last bell rang, I ran out of excuses.

It was snowing like crazy outside.
I needed my coat.
I had to go to my locker before I could go home.
And Derek would pounce on me and Meagan would be there with Jessica, listening to the whole thing, and the day would end even more badly than Tuesdays usually ended.

I dragged my feet down the corridor, trying the delay the inevitable. Suzanne sailed past me with her cronies and snarled her favorite greeting – that would be “Freak!” – and they all laughed their mean girls’ laugh. My dread was enough that I didn’t even care about Ms. Popularity and her perspective.

You would think that my outlook would be more positive. A bunch of great things had happened in the fall – some due to the efforts of yours truly – and it had been quiet in the realm of dragon shape shifters ever since. We’d kicked the proverbial butts of the Mages when they’d tried to destroy us, we’d formed alliances with the wolf shifters and the cat shifters and I’d been given the blessing of the previous Wyverns as the new Wyvern. Kohana, the Thunderbird shifter, had stolen the NightBlade from the Mages, thereby rendering them pretty much impotent, and we had a plan to help him destroy it on the next solar eclipse, coming to a sky near you in April. All we had to do was wait for the time to be right to completely consolidate our victory – forever.

Meagan had discovered that she had spellsinger powers and was learning to use them. I’d also had the most awesome sixteenth birthday party ever at the end of all that drama. My parents had gotten back together and had even gone away on some romantic vacation, leaving me to stay with my pal Meagan. Things were good. You’d think that a dragon girl would be able to discern the glimmer of gold in her hoard of possibilities.

But no. All I could think about – and dread – was the Valentine’s Day dance this coming Friday night.

Derek had asked me to go with him. This wasn’t a huge surprise. We’d gone to a few movies and hung out together over the past couple of months. He wasn’t much of a talker but it was kind of comfortable being with him. We’d kissed twice more. I knew he wanted more than that, but I wasn’t sure.

Inviting me to the Valentine’s Day dance was an escalation.

I’d been ducking him, avoiding him, not giving him an answer. It was serious finkdom on my part, but I just didn’t know what to do.

The thing is I like Derek. I even like him a lot. He’s sweet and thoughtful and funny once in a while. He’s protective of me and pretty quiet, a bit intense. Plus he’s a wolf shifter, so he knows a bit about the challenge of having two lives and keeping one part of your life secret from the other. We have the shifter thing in common and that makes it easy to be with him. I think it’s wicked that he has the gift of foresight, that he can smell the future a couple of minutes before it happens. He calls it his early warning system. I want some of that, but so far my Wyvern ability to see the future is being coy.

The problem is that I don’t think I like Derek as much as he likes me.

And that worries me.

Does it matter? I think it does.

Derek is probably the smart choice. He’s probably one guy I could and should go for. He’s the one chance that could work.

Of course, I have this habit of falling hard for guys who don’t fall for me. I did it once with Nick, another dragon shifter and one of my buddies, and I’m pretty sure I’ve done it again.

For Jared. Who is older, elusive, hot, a rebel and a member of a rock band, who rides a motorcycle, is never around when I want to talk to him, and possibly knows more about dragons than I do. He challenges me and dares me and makes me tingle right down to my toes – and that happened even before I scored my very first kiss, from him. He jumbles me up and confuses me – and just the mention of his name makes my dad breathe fire and lock the doors.

I think I could have forgotten Jared – or at least forgotten the possibility of seeing him again – when he sent me the only copy in existence of a book about dragon shifters. He had it and at first he said he wouldn’t give it to me, so that I’d need to contact him regularly. He called me dragon girl then and his eyes were seventy million shades of green, his grip warm and tight on my hand. My heart did somersaults all over my chest.

Then he sent me the book last fall. What was I supposed to think? I thought he was done and gone and that was that.

I was still trying to reconcile myself to the idea of him being out of my life forever when he called out of the blue – then got the tattoo I wanted, the one my mom had forbidden me to get on my back, on his back for my birthday. I didn’t sleep for three nights.

I’ve spent way too much time checking out the pictures he sent me of the finished tattoo on his gorgeous muscles.

Plus I still owe him a ride.

So, should I hold to the dream, as crazy and unlikely as it sounds? Or should I accept that Derek is my kind of guy and agree to go to the dance with him? I don’t want to be mean to Derek – but maybe love takes time to grow. Or maybe my instincts are right. Or maybe I’m just always going to yearn for guys that don’t want me. Maybe that’s part of what I like about them.

How twisted would that be? I like to think I’m more emotionally balanced than that.

Maybe Jared just likes the idea of having fan girls, of having me hanging on the line, waiting on him.

That really isn’t my style.

At least, it shouldn’t be.

I rounded the last corner and saw exactly what I’d wanted to avoid. Derek was leaning beside my locker, waiting on me. Meagan was at her locker, sorting her books, waiting on me.

Derek’s dark hair is straight and still a bit too long. It hangs over his eyes, but still doesn’t disguise their intense pale blue. They are wolflike, in their color and intensity. I swear he has x-ray vision. He was wearing his usual dark clothes, a combo that the eye slides over easily and lets him blend into the shadows. He’s so quiet that he could be made of shadow.

Of course, he wasn’t surprised to see me coming or from which direction. His gaze locked on me as soon as I turned the corner, his intensity making my mouth go dry.

I’d have to give him an answer before I left today. But what would it be? Heart or mind? I had a feeling that there would be big repercussions from my choice, but of course, I couldn’t even guess what they might be. My Wyvern powers could have helped me out here, but no. I was on my own.

No pressure.

“Hey,” Derek said, a guy of as few words as ever. His voice is low and grumbly, kind of like a growl. Sometimes it makes me shiver. “How was art class?”

“Best class of the day,” I said with a smile. “Makes the rest tolerable.”

Meagan laughed as I got to my locker, tapping her messenger to pull up a new message. She was laughing a lot more than she used to and no wonder – she’d finally gotten her braces off and sooner than expected. We’d both been thinking it would still be years, but she’d gone for her appointment in January and the orthodontist had said it was time to remove the top ones. Her teeth looked awesome and she was attracting a lot more attention. People saw her now, instead of her mouthful of metal. She is really cute and I’m happy for her.

In fact, I had an idea that I knew would make her happy if I could make it happen.

“It’s Jared again,” she said with excitement, scrolling through the new message.

“Again?” I asked as I opened my locker. I gave Derek a smile and tried to keep my tone neutral in referring to Mr. Incredibly Hot.

Derek didn’t smile back.

He watched me closely. I knew what he wanted and that the moment of reckoning had arrived.

I dodged it just a little bit longer.

I nudged Meagan. “You two have something going on?” I teased, acting as if I did not care.

Meagan laughed again. “He’s sending me all these tips about spellsinging. It’s amazing. I’m learning so much.”

“Oh, so you hear from him often.”

“Yeah! Like every second day. He’s in Des Moines this week.”

My heart stopped. Des Moines was comparatively close.

But he hadn’t called me.

Meagan held up her messenger to show the image of some club on its screen. “That’s where the band is playing tonight. They’re sold out!”

“Great,” I said, barely glancing at it. I felt a simmer begin deep in my heart.

She heard from him every second day?

And I hadn’t had one “hello” since November?

I was so out of his life that he hadn’t even told me that he was back with his band.

Even I know enough about guys to understand the implications of that. Jared had been messing with me. He was over. He hadn’t gotten in touch, because he didn’t want to get in touch, because he did not care.

Just thinking that made me wince, but there was no point in avoiding the truth.

I shrugged into my coat and met Derek’s gaze. He was cautious, uncertain what I would do. “You still want to go to the dance Friday?” I asked him, my tone a little more challenging than was necessary.

He straightened. “Only with you.” He smiled crookedly and I was struck by just how cute he is. “I thought you weren’t sure.”

“I’m sure. Let’s go.”

His smile broadened then and I saw how much I’d pleased him. It is kind of amazing to be able to have that effect on someone. Would it work the other way by Friday? Or after that? “I’ll pick you up at seven, talk to your dad and stuff.” He was big on the protocol of talking to my dad. Maybe it’s a pack thing. A wolf thing. A question of respecting the hierarchy. Either way, my dad likes Derek a bunch.

Probably as much as he dislikes the idea of Jared.

“They went to the Caribbean today. I’m staying at Meagan’s this weekend.”

Derek nodded. “Okay. I’ll pick you up there.” He glanced at Meagan. “You coming to the dance, Meagan?”

She pouted. “I don’t have a date and I don’t want to go stag. I’ve done it enough and this year, I really want to go with a guy.”

“She’s coming,” I said to Derek and Meagan didn’t look that surprised. There’s a casualty of her being a genius – it’s tough to surprise her.

“But…” she started to protest.

“She’s coming,” I insisted and slammed my locker. Derek looked between us, amused.

Meagan gave me a stern look. “You’re not going to fix me up. I won’t be a pity date.”

“No, you won’t be, but yes, I am going to fix you up.” I bumped shoulders with her, the way we always do, and smiled at her. “Trust me already. I have a plan and you’re going to like it.”

And I did.

I just had to make it work.

Once upon a time, about three months before this, Meagan had gotten her first glimpse of the Pyr. That’s the name for dragon shape shifters, or at least, our name for ourselves. That’s what I am – although I’m the only female dragon shape shifter in existence. There’s only one female Pyr at a time, and she’s the Wyvern. I’m the Wyvern. And being the Wyvern means having a bonus pack of extra powers, some of which I’m still trying to locate.

But my point is simply that all the other dragon shifters I know, all of my buddies and the dragons I grew up with, are all guys. And they are pretty hot guys. I think the dragon business works in a big way for guys: it seems to make them fill out and get buff more quickly than plain old human guys. So, any female with a speck of interest in the opposite sex would notice them, even when they’re in their human form.

In dragon form, they are breathtaking.

In November, Meagan had been targeted by the Mages because of her innate spellsinging talents. They thought they could turn her to the dark side, then maybe use her against me and my dragon pals. They weren’t counting on Meagan the genius figuring out their plan and deciding to go undercover to learn the real deal. It all culminated at a Halloween party at the house of an apprentice Mage – who goes to our school – named Trevor. Meagan had been crazy for Trevor forever, until she learned his nasty secret.

And until Garrett, one of my dragon buddies, came to the rescue. Garrett is garnet and gold in dragon form, his scales like jewels, and just about as magnificent as a dragon can be. It doesn’t hurt that he’s training to be the next Smith of our kind, so he spends a bunch of time at his dad’s blacksmith forge, learning his hereditary role and building some primo muscles.

I can razz Meagan about Jared because I know she’s totally nuts for Garrett.

The problem is that we’re in Chicago and Garrett lives in Traverse City. Since November, Meagan and Garrett haven’t seen each other. Rotten luck contributed to that – the Pyr got together at our place at Christmas but Meagan and her family were on vacation in California at the exact same time. She was devastated by that.

And I think Garrett was a bit bummed, too.

He’s got the same strong-silent-type, taciturn intensity as Derek.

So that night, when I was supposed to be doing my homework at the dining room table at Meagan’s house, I used my messenger under the table and invited Garrett to the Valentine’s Day dance. Meagan watched me from the other side of the table, flicking glances toward the kitchen where her mom was making dinner. Her mom is serious about no messaging until homework is done, and if she caught me, she’d confiscate my messenger pronto.

I closed my hands over it in an attempt to muffle the sound as it chimed to signal an incoming message. I peeked between my fingers and grinned.

Garrett was coming.

“That had better not be a messenger I hear,” Mrs. Jameson said from the kitchen. “We’re going to eat in twenty minutes and I want to see that English homework done.”

“Who?” Meagan mouthed.

I smiled as mysteriously as I could.

She wrinkled her nose at me, then glanced at her own messenger. It remained silent.

“Geek,” I mouthed back at her and she wadded up a sheet of paper to throw it at me. We have an old joke that we’re not geeky enough to message each other when we’re sitting in the same room. (Even though we sometimes do.)

“I am talking to you, Zoë Sorensson,” Mrs. Jameson added.

“Just finishing the last two questions, Mrs. Jameson,” I answered, apparently the most dutiful student alive. Just so you know, I have nobody fooled on that one.

“Meagan?”

“Done, Mom.” Meagan frowned and leaned closer to me, flicking another look at the kitchen. “Who?” she whispered.

“Wait for Friday,” I whispered and winked. “You’ll love it.”

Meagan sat back. Of course she knew. Her mouth fell open and she raised one hand to her lips. “No!” she mouthed, clearly wanting me to say “yes”.

It is so tedious to try to surprise a brilliant individual, you know. Impossible, maybe.

I tried to act like I didn’t understand her, but we’ve known each other way too long for that. I’d been hoping to make her wait for it, at least until we went to bed, but no luck. Meagan was too excited.

She scribbled a note and shoved it across the table at me, interrupting my consideration of math question number twenty-nine.

Her expression was expectant as I read it.

Actually, she was bouncing in her chair, vibrating with such excitement that I knew I’d done exactly the right thing.

For once.

“GARRETT!?!”

I nodded.

Meagan snatched the paper back and scribbled some more. I smiled when I saw what she’d written.

“OMG! What am I going to wear?”

~CONTEST~

All this week OTER will be spotlighting award-winning author Deborah Cooke. Today we have, BLAZING THE TRAIL, the third (3) installment in Cooke's Young Adult The Dragon's Diaries which will be released on June 5, 2012 by the Penguin Group.

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Monday Question: Dragons by nature are what?

Tuesday Question: Who is the Keeper of the Covenant?

Wednesday Question: Who is Megan (Zoe's best friend) massively crushing on?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Contest: The Dragon Diaries: Winging It by Spotlight Author Deborah Cooke

2012-01-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780451234896

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Publication date: 12/6/2011

Pages: 352

Sales rank: 62,794

Age range: 16 - 18 Years

Series: Dragon Diaries Series, #2

Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Order: Barnes & Noble

Overview

The new Dragon Diary novel from the author of Flying Blind.

Zoë Sorensson yearns to come into her powers as the only female dragon shifter. But being part of two worlds is more complicated than she expected. It's bad enough that she's the target of the Mages's plan to eliminate all shifters-but she also has to hide her true nature from her human best friend, Megan. But when Megan gets a last-minute invite to the popular kids' Halloween party-hosted by an apprentice Mage-Zoë must save the day and her best friend without revealing her fire- breathing secrets...

Meet the Author

Deborah Cooke has written more than thirty romance novels. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing, or hunting for vintage patterns.www.deborahcooke.com

An excerpt from WINGING IT

The black envelope fell out of my locker when I unlocked the door before lunch. It was three weeks after the eclipse and I was worn to a frazzle. I wasn’t sleeping well, probably because I kept waiting for someone to make a move. For the Mages to embark on their plan. They were far too quiet for me to rest easy.

Everything was too quiet. It spooked me.

I let the envelope fall.

Why would someone shove an envelope into my locker, instead of just talking to me? I couldn’t think of one good reason.

I’m not that scary.

And if I am, courtesy of my ability to shift into a dragon at will, no one at school knows it. I’m all about managing information these days. Keeper of the Covenant, that’s me.

Which doesn’t do much for friendships, in case you’re not sure.

The envelope landed right side up, my name printed on the front in sparkly gold ink. Not a mistake then. I lifted it with the toe of my boot, still skeptical. It didn’t look thick enough to hold a practical joke.

Suspicious, me? You bet. Ever since we’d fought the Mages - and won - I’d been expecting them to take another shot. Treaty or not. Their plan was to eliminate shifters, one species at a time, assuming the powers of each kind of shifter as they were moved to the extinction list. We knew that the Pyr were in the hot seat, so to speak.

Just because we’d foiled one plan didn’t convince me that it was over. Just because we had a treaty didn’t persuade me that they would forget the whole thing.

Never mind that Trevor Wilson, the hottest guy in my school, was one of them. He was an apprentice Mage, although I didn’t exactly know their education process, much less how close to graduation he was. I’d been watching him so carefully this fall that my best friend, Meagan, was convinced that I was sweet on him.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

It also compounded the friendship problem because she was sweet on him.

I’d spent all summer in intensive training with my dad, learning to shift more quickly and at will. He timed me and pushed me and made me fly laps around the city at night to build my speed. On the upside, I was getting good at the basic dragon drill.

On the downside, there was a chill between my parents, and it was because of me. My mother didn’t agree with my dad’s decision to train me, and she made her feelings clear. The loft where we lived was about as cozy and homey as a meat locker these days.

Oh, and when I’d finally worked up my nerve to contact the hot motorcycle-riding rebel rocker Jared, he’d sent me only a short reply. Then silence.

Like he was ducking me.

Even after that kiss.

I told myself I didn’t care about that, that my only interest in him was that he had the one copy of the only book about the Pyr that I knew existed.

Even I knew that was a lie.

And then there was that dynamic between Meagan and me. Not good. She had a best friend’s sense of when she wasn’t being told the whole story, and she knew something had happened last spring break. More importantly, she knew that I wasn’t telling her about it.

I couldn’t, not without breaking the Covenant that my dad, leader of the Pyr, made all of the dragon shifters swear.

I picked up the envelope just as Meagan appeared beside me. Her timing was perfect.

Perfectly awful, that is.

“What’s that?”

“I don’t know.”

She tilted her head to look at it. “Then maybe you should open it and find out. It looks like an invitation.”

I smiled at the very idea. No one ever invited me to anything. I wasn’t a brilliant student like Meagan, although I aced Art every year. I was different, though, and people smelled it on me. Meagan had been my only pal since kindergarten. Until now, I’d liked that just fine. Now, it just made me feel more alone.

Which reminded me of another issue I wanted to avoid with Meagan. My birthday was coming up in two weeks, my sixteenth, and my dad wanted to invite all of the Pyr. That meant my human friends - specifically, my very best friend, who would be Meagan - couldn’t be invited, in case she saw something she shouldn’t.

Having secrets from Meagan sucked, but I couldn’t see a way around it.

I hadn’t yet figured out how I’d tell her about the party she wasn’t invited to attend.

I ripped open the envelope, avoiding the inevitable.

“It is an invitation,” Meagan said, reading over my shoulder. “To Trevor Wilson’s Halloween party!” She was amazed and impressed. “It’s like a dream come true.”

Uh no. In fact, there was a shiver of dread running down my spine. Trevor’s party was the last place I’d be on October 31. It had to be a trick, or a trap, and I wasn’t going to walk right into it - like the heroine in a scary movie, who goes down to the basement by herself, to check out the strange noise, despite the creepy organ music.

Funny that I’d been waiting for something to happen but now that it was happening, I wanted it to stop.

Meagan poked me with one finger. “You must have known!”

“I didn’t.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been talking to him, haven’t you? He doesn’t invite just anybody.”

“No, I haven’t talked to him at all. You’re the one who tutors him in math.”

Meagan opened her own locker. No envelope fell out.

She rummaged a little, then gave me a look. “I thought we were friends. Forever.” Her voice was quiet and I knew she was hurt.

And I’d done the hurting. Inadvertently, but still. “We are.”

“So, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“There’s nothing going on that you don’t know about.”

Have I mentioned that I’m the world’s worst liar? Well, I am and Meagan has my number. There’s a hazard of having known someone most of your life.

She leaned in really close and said a word I never thought I’d hear cross her lips. “Bullshit.”

I blinked.

“Something happened in Minnesota, and you’ve been holding out on me ever since. You never even told me what you said to scare Suzanne so much. Something’s changed. Don’t think I don’t know it. Don’t think it doesn’t hurt my feelings that you won’t tell me.” She took a deep breath and I saw a shimmer of tears on her lashes. Her next words were tight. “If you don’t want to be friends anymore, maybe because you suddenly know all kinds of cool people, then at least have the guts to say so.”

“That’s not true.”

Her lips tightened. “Okay, then. Promise me that you’ve told me everything.”

Trust the math queen to have put me in a logical corner. “Well, I haven’t and you know it, but that’s because I can’t, not because I don’t want to.”

“Why can’t you?”

“Because I promised not to tell anyone.”

“Promised who?”

I fidgeted. There was no way to make this better. “I can’t tell you that.”

“Sounds like the same excuse to me.” She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the lockers beside mine. “You think I didn’t notice that you haven’t mentioned your birthday party?”

I grimaced. “My dad wants me to have a family party.”

“For your sixteenth? I don’t believe it. Your dad isn’t a jerk.”

I chose not to argue that. “Well, he’s determined this time.”

“Your mom would never put up with it. If he wanted you to have a family party, she’d let you have another one with your friends.” Meagan was on a roll and it wasn’t one that made me look good. “You know what I think? I think you’re having a party and you’re just not inviting me.”

She stared at me, daring me to correct her.

And I couldn’t hold her gaze.

Because she was right.

“Nice, Zoë,” she said, her tone more bitter than I’d ever heard it. Meagan is not a bitch - that I’d made her sound this way said more about me than about her. “Really nice. Here’s hoping that your new friends are more worth keeping than your old ones.” She started to walk away.

“But Meagan, it’s not like that...”

She paused to look back at me. “You can tell me any time how it is,” she said, her gaze hard. “But I know already that you won’t.”

I looked down at the stupid invitation, wishing I’d never gotten it. As much as I liked my new Pyr powers, it really sucked to have to keep everything secret from my best friend.

“Have fun at Trevor’s party,” Meagan added. “And don’t worry about me. I’ve got a new friend of my own.”

She slung her pack over one shoulder and marched down the hall, and I knew I couldn’t change her mind. I watched as she stopped beside the locker of the new girl, the one who had moved to our school this year.

The one I really didn’t like, although I couldn’t have said why.

Jessica has dark hair and dark eyes. She’s slim and pretty and quiet. She’s another math whiz, so she and Meagan bonded in the land where calculating derivatives is as easy as pie. (Pi, maybe. As in recalling the first 100 digits of. So not my territory. Never mind citizenship: I don’t even have a visitor’s visa to that place.) The thing is, I should have liked Jessica, there was no reason why I shouldn’t.

But she gave me the creeps.

Big time.

I always felt like she was hiding something. It wasn’t just that she wore really baggy clothes - like she’d raided her brother’s closet - or even that she kept a baseball hat jammed over her head all the time.

She smiled at Meagan and hugged her, then over Meagan’s shoulder smiled at me. There was something hungry about that smile, something completely untrustworthy.

Like she had a big secret. As someone who has a pretty hefty secret myself, I think I know something about it.

That smile sent a shudder right down my spine.

And gave me the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life.

Then it was gone. As if I had imagined it.

Was Meagan in danger? Or was I just seeing things that weren’t there because I was lonely and jealous? It didn’t much matter either way - Meagan wasn’t going to listen to any advice I might give her.

I kicked my locker shut, jammed the invitation into my pack and headed home.

Alone.

I had no idea how to fix this, and no one to ask.

~CONTEST~

All this week OTER will be spotlighting award-winning author Deborah Cooke. Today we have, WINGING IT, the first installment in Cooke's Young Adult The Dragon's Diaries.

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Tuesday Question: Who is the Keeper of the Covenant?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Contest: The Dragon Diaries: FLYING BLIND by Spotlight Young Adult Fiction, Award-Winning Author Deborah Cooke

2012-01-16T14:15:00.001-05:00

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780451233882

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Publication date: 6/7/2011

Pages: 336

Sales rank: 108,242

Age range: 16 - 18 Years

Series: Dragon Diaries Series, #1

Product dimensions: 5.40 (w) x 8.20 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Overview

The next generation of shape-shifting dragons from the popular author of the Dragonfire novels.

Zoë Sorensson is perfectly normal, except she's been told she's destined for great things. Zoë's the one female dragon shapeshifter of her kind. But Zoë is at the bottom of the class when it comes to being Pyr and her powers are AWOL, so she's sent to a Pyr boot camp.

Zoë quickly realizes that she has to master her powers yesterday, because the Pyr are in danger and boot camp is a trap. The Mages want to eliminate all shifters and the Pyr are next in line-unless Zoë and her friends can work together and save their own kind.

Meet the Author

Deborah Cooke has written more than thirty romance novels. When she isn't writing, she can be found knitting, sewing, or hunting for vintage patterns. Learn more about the author at http://www.deborahcooke.com/

An excerpt from FLYING BLIND

There was a guy in my bedroom.

It was six in the morning and I didn’t know him.

I’m not much of a morning person, but that woke me up fast. I sat up and stared, my back pressed against the wall, sure my eyes had to be deceiving me. No matter how much I blinked, though, he was still there.

He seemed to think my reaction was funny.

He had dark hair and dark eyes, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, just jeans—and he had one heck of a six-pack. His arms were folded across his chest and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

But he seemed insubstantial. I could see through him, right to the crowded bulletin board behind him.

Was he real?

I was going to try asking him, but he abruptly faded—faded and disappeared right before my eyes.

As if he’d just been an illusion. I jumped from the bed, then reached into that corner. My fingers passed through a chill, one cold enough to give me goose bumps. Then my hand landed on a pushpin holding a wad of drawings and everything was perfectly normal.

Except for the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

I took a deep breath and looked around. My room was the pit it usually is. There were some snuffed candles on my desk and bookshelves, a whiff of incense lingering in the air, and the usual mess of discarded sweaters and books all over the floor.

No sign of that guy. If I hadn’t seen him, if I’d woken up two minutes later, I wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong at all.

I shuddered one last time and headed for the shower. Halfway there I wondered, Had Meagan’s plan worked?

The visioning session had been my best friend’s idea. Her mom calls herself a holistic therapist, which makes my mom roll her eyes. I was skeptical, too, but didn’t have any better ideas. And Meagan, being the best friend ever, had really pulled out all the stops. She’d brought candles and mantras and incense for my room, and even though I’d felt silly, I’d followed her earnest instructions.

When the candles had burned down and she’d left—and my mom had shouted that I should open a window—I’d been pretty sure it hadn’t worked. Nothing seemed to have happened.

But now I didn’t know what to think. Who had that guy been? Where had he come from? And where had he gone?

Or had I just imagined him? I thought that if I were going to imagine a guy in my bedroom, it wouldn’t be one who thought I was funny when I wasn’t trying to be, never mind one who kind of creeped me out.

I’d have imagined Nick there.

In fact, I frequently did.

I heard my mom in the kitchen and my dad getting the newspaper and knew I had to get moving. I did my daily check in the bathroom, but nada. No boobs. No blood.

Four more zits.

At its core, then, the visioning session had failed.

I’m probably not the only fifteen-and-a-half-year-old girl who’d like to get the Puberty Show on the road. Even Meagan got her period last year, which was why she was trying to help. But my best friend didn’t know the half of it.

That was because of the Covenant. I couldn’t confide in Meagan because I’d had to swear to abide by the Covenant of our kind. I come from a long line of dragon shape shifters—Pyr, we call ourselves—and we pledge to not reveal our abilities to humans on a whim.

That would include Meagan.

The Covenant goes like this:

I, Zoë Sorensson, do solemnly pledge not to willfully reveal the truth of my shapeshifting abilities to humans. I understand that individuals may know me in dragon form, or in human form, but I swear that I shall not permit humans to know me in both forms, or to allow them to witness my shifting between forms without appropriate assessment of risk. I understand also that there will be humans who come to know me in both forms over the course of my life – I pledge not to reveal myself without due consideration, to beguile those who inadvertently witness my abilities, and to supply the names of those humans whom I have entrusted with my truth to the leader of the Pyr, Erik Sorensson.

Do humans know we exist? Sure. Humans always have – thus the dragon stories they tell. But knowing dragons exist, believing that they are actually dragon shape shifters and being convinced that your neighbor is one of them are entirely different things.

That’s probably a good thing.

The Covenant came about pretty recently. During the Dragon’s Tail Wars, some Pyr decided they wanted to be more active and visible. My dad, though, remembers when we were hunted almost to extinction. The Covenant is a compromise, between putting it all out there and living in secret. So, humans might see Sloane on the news, appearing at the scene of natural disasters to help – he’s the tourmaline dragon – or Brandt - the orange dragon – making another daring rescue, but they don’t know their names or where they live in their human lives.

We teenage Pyr had to pledge to the Covenant after Nick tried to impress the twin girls living next door, and his dad caught him.

I still thought it was funny that they hadn’t been impressed.

I, in contrast, was awed by Nick in dragon form.

The fact is that most humans don’t believe they could personally know a dragon shape shifter. Those twins thought Nick had pulled some kind of illusion to make himself look more cool than he is.

So, in a way, we might as well be a myth.

Which is funny, if you think about it.

The trick is that the dragon business is all theoretical when it comes to me. I’m the daughter of a dragon shape shifter, so I should also be a dragon shape shifter. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Except it’s not happening. Nothing special has happened to me. I can’t do it and I don’t know why—much less what I can do to hurry things along.

Dragons are by nature patient. That’s what my dad says. He should know, seeing as he is about twelve hundred years old. That’s supposed to reassure me, but it doesn’t.

Because dragons are also passionate and inclined to anger. I know that from spending my life around all those dragon shape shifters who are my extended family. And the fact that my dragon abilities were AWOL—despite my patience—was seriously pissing me off.

The Pyr are all guys—men and their sons—except for me. The story is that there’s only one female dragon at a time, that she’s the Wyvern and has special powers.

Yours truly—I’m supposed to be the Wyvern.

The issue with there only being one female dragon shape shifter at a time is that the last one died before I was born. And it’s not like anyone has her diary. Zero references for me. Zero advice.

Zero anything.

Just an expectation from my family and friends that I’ll become the font of all dragonesque knowledge and lead the next generation to wherever the heck we’re going.

Sooner would be better.

No pressure, right?

My dad says I was a prodigy, that I was already showing special powers before I could walk. Then I started to talk and all the Wyvern goodness went away. Poof. Instead of being special and a prodigy, I was just a normal kid.

I’m still waiting for the good stuff to come back.

No sign of it yet.

Some incremental progress would be encouraging. It’s one thing to be a disappointment to everyone you care about, and quite another to just sit back and accept that inadequacy. In fact, I was starting to think that those dragons who believed I wasn’t really the Wyvern might have it right.

Thus Meagan’s session.

An act of desperation.

Because the one thing I did know was that the other dragon teenagers like Nick had come into their powers with puberty. Their voices cracked and bingo, they were shifting shape like old pros. So being a late bloomer has bigger repercussions for me. Meagan thought we were doing the ritual for my period to start. She didn’t need to know I was after a little bit more than that.

Instead I got a guy mocking me in my own bedroom at the crack of dawn.

Like I said, it wasn’t the best way to start the day.

~CONTEST~

All this week OTER will be spotlighting award-winning author Deborah Cooke. First up, FLYING BLIND, the first installment in Cooke's Young Adult The Dragon's Diaries.

To enter contest you will need to stop back each day, read the excerpt posted and answer the question or questions of the day.

Monday Question: Dragons by nature are what?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 22, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 23, 2011.

Romantic Crush Junkies eZine Goes Live!!!

2012-01-02T13:49:00.002-05:00

WE ARE LIVE

As of January 1, 2012 Romantic Crush Junkies Reviews eZine's official website went live!

We are very excited!

Come on in and enjoy the celebration. We have the wonderful romance authors, Alexandra Hawkins and Elise Rome contributing features articles this month.

In the Spotlight this month is New York Time Bestselling author Galen Foley celebrating her latest installment in her fascinating The Inferno Club series, MY RUTHLESS PRINCE.

While your there cruise around and check-out RCJR's forum. The forum is a place where readers and authors can connect. RCJR will be holding live chats. Stay tuned for an updated schedule and time. As you visit RCJR eZine please take a glance at are wonderfully well written reviews by some of the most creative reviewers on the planet.

All we ask is that you have fun while visiting. Also, do not forget to visit RCJR's Blogs and enter our monthly contests. Before going, RCJR is always looking for how we can make your experience better, so drop us a comment at contactrcjr@yahoo.com.

HAPPY READING!

Contest & Interview with USA Today's Bestselling HOT ZONE Author Catherine Mann

2011-12-13T12:03:00.001-05:00

Title: HOT ZONE

Series: 2nd Book in the Elite Force series

By Catherine Mann

Genre: Contemporary, Romantic suspense, Fiction, Adult,

Publisher: Sourcebooks

On Shelves: December 2011

Format: eBook & Print

Pages: 352

Reviewed by ChristineRCJR

Book Heat: HOT

Read an Excerpt

Read Review

Order:

He’ll take any mission, the riskier the better…

The haunted eyes of pararescueman Hugh Franco should have been her first clue that deep pain roiled beneath the surface. But if Amelia couldn't see the damage, how could she be expected to know he'd break her heart?

She’ll prove to be his biggest risk yet…

Amelia Bailey's not the kind of girl who usually needs rescuing...but there are anything but usual circumstances.

USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann delivers another hero from the Air Force's celebrated Pararescue Jumpers–"The PJs"– an ultra-elite force who put themselves at extreme risk in the most dangerous emergancies so that others may live. A sizzling thrill-rise of action and attraction, Hot Zone will leave your pulse pounding.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann is a RITA Award winning novelist with over two million books in print, in more than twenty countries. She resides in Florida with her military flyboy husband and their four children. For more information, she can be found online at:

Website: http://catherinemann.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CatherineMannAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CatherineMann1

Over the Edge Reviews

Interview with

HOT ZONE

USA TODAY Bestselling

Author

Catherine Mann

What is the best part of being a writer? What is the worst?

The best part – sleeping late if I want and working in my PJs!

The worst part – At the end of the day, I’m ready to go out to eat and my family is ready to kick back at home.

Why do you write?

Honestly, if I don’t write, the words and stories build up in my head. Writing is like releasing a pressure valve in my brain.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

I hadn’t realized that there are only 350 pararescuemen.

Do you have a favorite motto?

I have a couple of them, actually. But here’s one of my enduring favorites. "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." ~Mother Teresa"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~Aristotle

Do you have a favorite fictional hero? Favorite fictional heroine?

Wow, that’s probably one of the toughest questions anyone has asked me. I thought Mary and Rhage in J.R. Ward’s second “Black Dagger Brotherhood” book had a heart wrenching romance. And any of Suz Brockmann’s Tall, Dark and Dangerous SEALs own my heart. J

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

I’m really in love with the awesome cover Sourcebooks gave HOT ZONE! The art department truly outdid themselves!

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned by Googling your name?

There’s a Catherine Mann economist out there who’s written a number of books. Since I’m SO not a math person, it cracks me up. There’s also a Catherine Mann who wrote a couple of women’s fiction books back in 1988 and 1990. People ask if those books are mine, but nope. My first book was published in 2002.

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? Why?

I would want to go backward in time and see my grandparents. I would welcome the chance to give each one of them a long hug, then just sit and talk with them for hours.

Catherine, congratulations on the release of your latest in your Elite Force series, “HOT ZONE” released by Sourcebooks Casablanca. Please share a bit more about it.

Master sergeant Hugh Franco lives only to save others, until he plucks beautiful attorney Amelia Bailey from the wreckage of an earthquake and finds himself embroiled in ways he never expected. On the run from kidnappers, Hugh must call on all his training to protect them. But Amelia's fiery touch threatens to crack his world—and his heart—wide open.

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

They’re both crucial to a riveting read, but if I had to pick, I would say voice. Voice is what breathes life into the plot.

Catherine, where can desperate readers—like me--- connect with you in cyber world. =)

I love, love, love to hang out on the internet. I can be found online at:

Website: http://catherinemann.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CatherineMannAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CatherineMann1

I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

Yipes! I read a lot – across genres. I know I’ll forget to list someone…. For now, I’ll say Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Lisa Gardner, Tana French, Teresa Medieros, Sarah Addison Allen, J.R. Ward, Suzanne Brockmann, Sherrilyn Kenyon/Dianna Love, Joanna Bourne. I also recently read WATER FOR ELEPHANTS and I can’t wait for the sequel to Justin Cronin’s THE PASSAGE.

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

I have a packed spring of military heroes on the shelves! PROTECTOR (March, Berkley), HONORABLE INTENTIONS (April, Harlequin Desire), and UNDER FIRE (May, Sourcebooks).

Catharine, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with Over the Edge readers and myself; it has really been a blast getting to know more about you and your books.

And thank you so much for having me! I look forward to visiting with folks here today!!

~CONTEST~

USA Today's bestselling author Catherine Mann has stopped by Over the Edge Reviews today to chat about her latest Source book release HOT ZONE and is running a SWEET contest. Here is what you need to do to be entered.

"I have 2 copies of HOT ZONE to give away to two commenters chosen at random. If you could go back in time, who would you want to visit?

***

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 1, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 2, 2011.

Contest, Interview & Review with DESTINY'S CALL Young Adult/Adult Fantasy Author Jodine Turner

2011-12-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

Title: DESTINY'S CALL

Series: 1st Book in the Carry On The Flame series

By Jodine Turner

Genre: Paranormal, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Adult, YA

Publisher: TAGPublishing

On Shelves: July 2011

Format: eBook & Print

Pages: 278

Reviewed by ChristineRCJR

Book Heat: MILD

Read an Excerpt

Read Review

Order:
Amazon

Humanity is in the midst of the greatest crisis in their evolution. Sharay is the one chosen to show the way forward and help humankind move through the fear and dark times of today’s world. Born into a lineage of priestesses in modern day Glastonbury, England, Sharay’s way is blocked by her jealous Aunt Phoebe, who uses black magic against her to steal her fortune and magical power. When Phoebe commits Sharay to a psychiatric ward and accuses her of murder, Sharay struggles with the temptation to fight Phoebe’s vengeance with her own. Through the ancient Celtic ceremony of Beltaine, Sharay experiences profound sacred union with the Welshman Guethyn, who shows her how to open her heart. But Sharay must learn to transform her hatred for her aunt in order to claim the mystery held deep within her cells that will allow her to fulfill her destiny and prove that the ultimate magic is the power of love.

~About Author~
Jodine Turner is an author of Young Adult/Adult fantasy, visionary fiction, magical realism, and paranormal romance. She is also an Adorata Practitioner in the spiritual path of embodying divine love and balancing the feminine and masculine within; as well as a therapist, consecrated priestess, and deacon in the Gnostic Church of Mary Magdalene. Jodine has made several trips to England, Scotland, and Ireland, where she visited and researched many of the ancient sacred sites. She then fulfilled a dream by moving to the UK. While living in Glastonbury, England, the legendary Isle of Avalon, Jodine met and married her husband. She published Journey Through the Mists of Avalon, a book of shamanic visions and poetry. Upon her return to the US, she began writing the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series about priestesses who have lived in Glastonbury down through the ages to today.

The novels carry keys to embodying love, and are an adventure filled initiatory journey into the Mysteries of the Goddess. Each novel is a standalone read. First in Jodine's series is the highly acclaimed The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis, followed by the award- winning The Keys to Remember. The third in the series, Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call Book One, is an Award-Winning Finalist in the USA ‘Best Books 2011’ Awards. Carry on the Flame continues in Book Two Ultimate Magic. Jodine presently lives in Oregon with her beloved husband Chris and their three magical cats who go by the codenames of Mojo, Minnie, and Pumpkin.

Interview with

Young Adult/Adult Fantasy

Author of

DESTINY'S CALL

Jodine Turner

What is the best part of being a writer? What is the worst?

The best is the creativity, the juice that flows when I write, especially when writing craft and inspiration meet.

I’m learning to like marketing because it is part of the whole package of being a published writer, but the marketing and publicizing of my novels isn’t as incredible as the writing – imagine that! A close second to that is rejection letters from agents.

Why do you write?

I write because it is a passion. I write because I have no choice! The inspiration, the Muse, won’t let me stop! (And I don’t want to anyway). Sometimes I hear the Muse chatter just as I’m falling asleep. That’s why I keep pen and paper by my bedside. I have all sorts of little notes on my desk because of that!

I write because I have a message for my readers and I want to deliver it in the most entertaining way possible.

I’ve been writing since I was in elementary school and my teachers encouraged me to write. When I became ill in the mid-1990’s I took the opportunity to begin writing my novels. I moved to Glastonbury, England for a year, one of my favorite spots on the planet, in order to do research and immerse myself in the energy, as many of my novels take place there. I experienced inspiring dreams and waking visions about Glastonbury. I studied its folklore and legend. And using all those experiences, I began to write my Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

I found that I went through a personal initiation process for much of this novel. For example, I had to move through some of my own old grief before I could flesh out Sharay’s grief in my story. It seemed like much of the novel continued on in that manner for me – having to experience some of the things personally first.

Do you have a favorite motto?

Can I have three?

“Follow your bliss” ~ Joseph Campbell

“There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” ~ Sports writer "Red" Smith

“The love you desire is within.” ~ The Goddess of the Stars and the Sea

Which fictional character would you hang out with?

In my own novel, Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call, I’d want to hang out with Dillon, the eccentric, elderly Welsh wizard who helps Sharay on her Celtic vision quest, called the ‘Imram.’ Dillon is wise, but doesn’t take himself seriously. He’s got a good sense of humor, he’s compassionate, intelligent, and filled with heart.

I think Guethyn, Sharay’s love interest, is hot! The romance in Carry on the Flame was inspired in part by my personal story. I met my husband Chris while I was living in Glastonbury. He is English/Welsh/Irish, and the Welsh name his mother originally wanted for him, Guethyn, became the name of my main male character in Carry on the Flame. Guethyn is the wizard Dillon’s grandson, a rebellious college student. When he falls in love with Sharay, he finds himself, despite his rejection of all things magic, drawn into an adventure that requires him to awaken to the truth of who he really is.

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

I love the artwork of Kinuko Craft, as in the book covers Sleeping Beauty and The Twelve Dancing Princesses.

I also love Elizabeth Cunningham’s Maeve (Celtic Magdalen) series book covers, particularly her Red Robed Priestess novel cover.

And my first book cover, from The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis with its beautiful painting of the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea really touches my heart. The artist heard the words “This is for Jodine” as she painted it, before I even commissioned her to do it.

What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

I am a consecrated priestess.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned by Googling your name?

Well, with an unusual name like mine (my mother tells me she made it up by combining Jody and Dina), I was surprised to find out there were others with the same name. Now how did that happen?!

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? Why?

Ancient Britain and Ireland and Scotland fascinates me, during the times of the Celts. They had a sense of connection with nature, with the arts, with spirit, with each other that I find intriguing. Hence, the Celtic theme in my novels Carry on the Flame as well as The Keys to Remember

Jodine, please share with us more about your latest release, Carrying on the Flame: DESTINY’S CALL.

My novel has won four awards, the more recent being an award winning finalist in USA Books ‘Best Books 2011’ New Age fiction.

Humanity is in the midst of the greatest crisis in their evolution. Sharay is the one chosen to show the way forward and help humankind move through the fear and dark times of today’s world. Born into a lineage of priestesses in modern day Glastonbury, England, Sharay’s way is blocked by her jealous Aunt Phoebe, who uses black magic against her to steal her fortune and magical power. When Phoebe commits Sharay to a psychiatric ward and accuses her of murder, Sharay struggles with the temptation to fight Phoebe’s vengeance with her own. Through the ancient Celtic ceremony of Beltaine, Sharay experiences profound sacred union with the Welshman Guethyn, who shows her how to open her heart. But Sharay must learn to transform her hatred for her aunt in order to claim the mystery held deep within her cells that will allow her to fulfill her destiny and prove that the ultimate magic is the power of love.

Book trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G3Jst5VHQo
Purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/Carry-Flame-Destinys-Jodine-Turner/dp/1934606294/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323468296&sr=1-1

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

Great question. I was going to say story because sometimes even if a writer doesn’t shine in their craft, the story can catch your imagination. Nowadays it takes practice and time to hone the craft of writing, even those who have a natural talent. I would tell anyone with the heart of a writer to go for it, tell your stories, express yourself. That is the important thing. You may not get on the New York Times Best Seller list, but write, write, write, anyway!

The reverse is also true, regarding the importance of voice. I’ve read stories where there isn’t much to the story line but because of the voice, we get drawn into the character’s dilemma’s as if it were the most important thing in the world.

I think there are two major factors to a good novel. One is how an author engages a reader through characters that they can relate to and care about. Characters that are real, characters that have strengths, weaknesses, and depth. A character has to undergo some sort of learning, transformation, and growth. Change mirrors the reality of life. And we all relate to that.

The second thing that makes a good story is the X factor that is hard to describe. It is the factor that reflects the collective imagination at the time.

Jodine, please share with desperate readers where they can connect with you in cyber world. =)

Website http://www.jodineturner.com
Blog http://.www.visionaryfiction.blogspot.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/JodineTurner
Facebook Author page http://www.facebook.com/JodineTurner.Author
Amazon.com Author page http://www.amazon.com/author/jodineturner
Goodreads http://bit.ly/k1PPbJ

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

Another full moon book birth! - Book Two of Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic just released on December 7th.

Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic Book Two

Born into a lineage of priestesses in modern day Glastonbury, England, Sharay is chosen by the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea to help humankind move through the fear and chaos of today’s world. To do so, she has to face her grief, loss, and her own dark side. Her way is blocked by her jealous Aunt Phoebe, who uses black magic against Sharay to steal her fortune and her magical powers. When Phoebe accuses her of insanity and murder, it’s the elder, eccentric wizard Dillon who sets Sharay on the Celtic ‘Imram,’ a quest designed to awaken her magical abilities as a priestess. And it’s Dillon’s grandson Guethyn who shows Sharay how to open her heart in the Beltaine Ritual, the ancient Celtic ceremony of sacred union.

Hunted by the police, stalked by a demonic Tracker conjured by her aunt, and torn from everyone she loves, Sharay struggles with the temptation to fight Phoebe’s dark powers with her own. She must transform her fear and hatred for her aunt in order to uncover the mystery held deep within her cells that will allow her to fulfill her destiny – a secret only she can discover. When separated from Guethyn’s protection, Sharay continues on her Imram alone, in this spellbinding conclusion to Carry on the Flame.

Here’s the book trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIj1AqHCgA

Purchase link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934606332/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=radicaltransf-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=193460633

Jodine, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with Over the Edge Review readers and myself; it has really been a blast getting to know more about you and your books.

~CONTEST~

Over the Edge Reviews is celebrating the wonderful Young Adult release DESTINY'S CALL paranormal by author Jodine Turner. One lucky reader will win a copy of DESTINY'S CALL, first installment in Ms. Turner's fabulous Carry On The Flame series.

To enter please follow these few simple rules.

*Leave a comment for Jodine Turner

* Tell us what you think of

Jodine Turner's

Carry On The Flame

book covers.

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

***

Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 1, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 2, 2011.

Chat Live With Linda Lael Miller Tomorrow (12/6) from the Paris Las Vegas!‏

2011-12-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

Catch the LIVE Chat with Linda Lael Miller!Straight from the Paris Las Vegas

WHAT: Author chat with Linda Lael Miller–streaming from the Paris Las Vegas

WHEN: Tomorrow, December 6^th at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. EST

WHERE: Harlequin’s Facebook Page and BookTrib.com

RSVP: Let us know you’re coming at LindaLaelMillerChat@booktrib.com

Contest & Interview with Award-Wining Author of DREAMING OF THE WOLF, Terry Spears

2011-12-03T13:13:00.000-05:00

Title: DREAMING OF THE WOLF

Series: 8th Book in the Werewolf series

By Tearry Spear

Genre: Paranormal, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Adult

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Imprint: Landmark

On Shelves: December 1,2011

Format: eBook & Print

Pages: 384

Reviewed by ChristineRCJR

Read an Excerpt

Order

Terry Spear's debut Heart of the Wolf was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Known for her research into how wolves live in nature, Spear writes her werewolves as they would behave realistically, including pack dynamics, mating behavior, and hierarchies.

Werewolf pack leader Jake Silver is an acclaimed photographer. He sees a beautiful woman at the art gallery where his photos are on display, and his intrigue turns into wolfish protectiveness. Alicia Greiston has never met anyone like Jake–he's sexy, alpha, and totally irresistible, and he calls to something primal in her soul.

~About Terry Spear~

Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Heart of the Wolf named in Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice for BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA fromMonmouth University and a Bachelors in Business and Distinguished Military Graduate of West Texas A & M. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses. To learn more about Terry Spear go to http://www.terryspear.com

Over the Edge Reviews

Interview with

DREAMING OF WOLF

Award-Winning

Paranormal Romance

Author

Terry Spear

What is the best part of being a writer? What is the worst?

The best part of being a writer is creating stories. I’ve always done so from when I was a child, so it just comes naturally. Deadlines. Yet I make them for myself so that I’m always ahead. So they’re important to me.

Why do you write?

I love creating characters and plots, the conflict, the need for a happy ending.

Name one eye-opening thing you learned from your book research.

That wolfsbane is both a werewolf killer in some literature and can turn a werewolf into a human for all time in others. And that it can keep the werewolf from shifting. I thought it was interesting that one plant could result in so many different endings for a werewolf. Although in Wolf Fever, the werewolves explain the truth of the matter.

Do you have a favorite motto?

Live life to the fullest. Life passes us by so quickly, I think it’s important to smell the roses, so to speak.

Do you have a favorite fictional hero? Favorite fictional heroine?

Indiana Jones, because he’s adventurous, never has a plan, courageous, but also has a delightful sense of humor.

Joan Wilder in Romancing the Stone because she’s a romance author, never been in any kind of wild adventure, finds romance with a cad, while she’s determined to save her sister in the wilds of South America at any cost.

Which fictional character would you hang out with?

Either Indiana Jones or Joan Wilder….

What is one of your favorite book covers, your own or someone else’s?

I LOVE, Heart of the Highland Wolf, because I adore men in kilts. And the cover, the colors, the man, the castle, I want to join him there. I also LOVE Dreaming of the Wolf’s cover. The amber eyes hint at a sexy “come here and I’ll fulfill your dreams” look. And I love the way they did the purple cover—his hobby is taking pictures of wildflowers like purple daisies, very artsy. And of course the A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing. Everyone at work had to take a look, and a second and third. The SEAL is well toned…the wolf blends in with the ocean and again, is hard to look away from. So all three covers are just gorgeous!

What would readers be surprised to learn about you?

When I was doing research about Scottish weapons for Heart of the Highland Wolf, I ran across a note that said something to the effect, “most when seeing the term claymore, think of the mine.” Now, I wouldn’t, because I know that the claymore was a sword. But it brought to mind that I also knew of the claymore mine because while in Army training as an officer, we had to set one. Not a real one, but just know how to do so.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever learned by Googling your name?

That some Terry Spear is a court recorder, or something. But it’s not me!

If you could go backward or forward in time which would you chose? Why?

Back in time. I love the past, history, and would love to glimpse some of the historical past. Not to stay there, but just to see the way it was. And then write about it!

Terry, congratulations on the release of your latest in your Werewolf series, “DREAMING OF THE WOLF” released by Sourcebooks Casablanca. Please share a bit more about it.

Thanks so much! Jake Silver is a triplet, his brother runs the pack in Destiny of the Wolf. But he’s always been the second in charge and he truly needs a mate. That’s the farthest thing on his mind when he goes to Breckinridge, Colorado, to drop off some of his wildflower photography and catches sight of a woman taking a picture of a license plate.

Wolves are curious by nature, and the shop he’s taking his work to is temporarily closed, so why not get some breakfast at the restaurant the woman has just entered while he’s waiting, and check her out a bit further? Well, you know the saying: Curiosity killed the cat. In this case since he’s all wolf, it doesn’t kill him, but gets him into a relationship and a whole lot of trouble with a real dangerous kind.

Which do you find is most important to you as a writer, voice or story? Why?

Story. We don’t have any control over voice. It’s just how we express our story, what comes from the heart, from our backgrounds. We take a particular idea that has essentially been done a million times (there are no new plot ideas) and make it ours.

Terry, where can readers connect with you in cyber world? =)

Oh, I’m everywhere!

www.facebook.com/terry.spear

www.terryspear.com

www.myspace.com/terryspear

http://terry-spear.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/TerrySpear

I also have a sign up form on my website that for a free newsletter. I try to send a free weekly read, unless deadlines or other commitments get in the way!

I know this is a difficult question with there being so many amazing authors out there to choose from, but who are some of the GOT-TO-HAVE authors in your TBR pile?

Jayne Ann Krentz and her series. I love Moning, Heather Graham’s romances, Christine Feehan, and Leslie Lefoy and really, a ton of other authors. When I’m not writing, I’m reading, or working, or teaching, or…

What’s next in the works for you? When can readers expect to see it out on shelves in their local bookstores?

A SEAL in Wolf’s Clothing. Did I mention how gorgeous the cover is??? It’ll be coming in March. Then in September, the first jaguar shifter story will debut. No title yet. And the second Highlander book, The Highland Wolf in Paradise, will be coming December, 2012.

Terry, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with Over the Edge readers and myself; it has really been a blast getting to know more about you and your books.

Thanks so much for having me at Over the Edge! Hoping everyone will try out a new wolf for size! Terry

**CONTEST**

In celebration of Sourcebooks Landmark releasing the DREAMING OF THE WOLF by paranormal romance author Terry Spear, Over the Edge Reviews will be giving two lucky readers their very own copy.

To enter please follow these few simple rules.

*Over the Edge is all about the wolf. Your outer wolf. Your inner wolf. Tell us, what is the one thing that fascinates you about paranormal romance, where a werewolf is the uber alpha hero?

*Connect with RCJR eZine at:

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Contest is open to ALL readers.

Contest runs until January 1, 2011.

I will contact winners directly on January 2, 2011.

One entry per reader.