Saturday, December 31, 2011

* * * Kindle Contest * * *


Today is the last day to enter to win one of 2 Kindles (or $75 Kindle Gift Cards) I'm giving away to celebrate the release of Night Reigns, the second book in my Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series.  Details are on the Win 2 Kindles! page here on my blog or on the Contest page of my website.

Good luck!  Happy New Year!  And have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Friday, December 30, 2011

Favorite Quote Friday #15

Happy Holidays!  Oh the weather outside is frightful . . . and by frightful I mean so foggy we have near zero visibility and a forecast high warm enough you could wear shorts.  Not very holliday-ish.  Where are the crisp temps and the brisk winds? 

Before I get to Favorite Quote Friday, I have some news to share.  I'm extending my blog tour and will be planning more stops.  My visiting family members have departed, leaving the house quiet.  I've gotten some rest and feel human again.  So I'm ready for more fun meet-and-greets.  (I meet the nicest people on blog tours.)  If you're a blogger and would like to participate, just zip me an email:  dianne [at] dianneduvall [dot] com .  Here's a list of the next few stops:
December 30, 2011 - JoAnne Kenrick's Blog
January 5, 2011 - Book Lovers Hideaway

All three will include giveaways!

There are only two days left to enter my big Kindle contest!  The contest ends at midnight tomorrow.  I'm so excited!  You can win one of TWO new Kindles or a $75 Kindle Gift Card if you already have one.  :-)  Details are on the Win 2 Kindles! page here on my blog or on the Contest page of my website.

And now for Favorite Quote Friday!  Today's selection comes from Night Reigns and actually is two quotes in one.  :-)  Ami, the heroine, speaks first, then Marcus, the hero, replies:

“You didn't see that."
 "If you say so, Oh Graceful One.”

 I love that these two tease each other.  :-)

If I don't post again before the 1st . . . Have a Very Happy New Year!  

Dianne

Monday, December 26, 2011

Winners, Books, Swag, and Blog Tour Info.

Good morning!  I hope you're all enjoying the holidays!  I haven't spent much time on the internet for the past week or so because I have family visiting, but I have some news to share.
My author copies of Night Reigns arrived!  Woohoo!  I've already begun to send out signed copies to winners of contests on my blog tour.

Congratulations!
CYP - winner at Ramblings From This Chick
Maria S. - winner at The Jeep Diva
Marie E. - winner at Books and Things
Danielle G. - winner at From the TBR Pile
Megan G. - winner at Paranormal Haven
&
Christine B. - winner at All Things Urban Fantasy

If you haven't already received your books, they're on the way!

Swag
 I also ordered some new bookmarks and mini-bookmarks and will be including them with the books I send to contest winners.  :-)

Blog Tour

I have more stops planned for my Night Reigns Blog Tour this week.

December 29 - The Quillery
December 30 - JoAnne Kenrick

If you missed previous stops, check out my last post.  Some of the contests are still open.  :-)

Kindle Contest Reminder
Just a reminder, there's still time to enter my big kindle contest!  Thank you, everyone who has entered already!  The contest continues through December 31st.  I'm giving away 2 kindles or, if you already have one, a $75 Kindle Gift Card.  Details can be found on the Win 2 Kindles! page here on my blog or on the contest page on my website.

Have a wonderful, wonderful week!

Dianne

Friday, December 9, 2011

This Week's Blog Tour Schedule

Good morning!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!  I'm still editing Phantom Shadows and the deadline is looming, so I just wanted to pop in and give you this week's blog tour schedule.  The stops will include giveaways, character interviews, and more, so I hope you'll join me!


December 12, 2011 - Paranormal Haven

December 13, 2011 - All Things Urban Fantasy

December 14, 2011 - Bitten by Paranormal Romance

December 15, 2011 - A Life Bound by Books

December 16, 2011 - Bilbliophilic Book Blog

December 18, 2011 - Rabid Reads

Previous Stops 

Author Interview + Giveaway
November 30, 2011 - Ramblings From This Chick

Guest Post + Giveaway:  The New Vampires on the Block
December 1, 2011 - The Jeep Diva

Guest Post + Giveaway:  Light or Dark Paranormal
December 2, 2011 - Books and Things

 Author Interview + Giveaway
December 5, 2011 - Book Monster Reviews

Author Interview + Giveaway
December 5, 2011 - Literal Addiction
Character Interview - Marcus & Ami + Giveaway
Author Interview
December 6, 2011 - Nocturne Romance Reads 

Character Interview - Roland & Sarah + Giveaway
December 7, 2011 - http://parajunkee.com/2011/12/duvallgiveaway.html 

Character Interview - Seth + Giveaway
December 8, 2011 - Lovin' and Livin' Life Reviews 

Updated Immortal Guardians Handbook + Giveaway
December 9, 2011 - From the TBR Pile

Character Interview - Black Friday Event - Darnell + Giveaway

Thank you so much, everyone who has shared in my excitement over Night Reigns' release and joined me on my tour!  And thank you, everyone who has purchased Night Reigns and/or Darkness Dawns!  I hope you'll enjoy them!

Have a great week!

Dianne

Monday, December 5, 2011

This Week's Events

Happy Monday!  I am loving the weather here!  It rained all night and has been cold and dreary all day.  You can't beat that after months and months of heat and extreme drought!

Tomorrow is the big day:  Night Reigns will be released on the 6th!  Finally!!!!  And all kinds of fun things are happening this week.
Night Reigns has been chosen for Book of the Month over at Reading Between the Wines Book Club, where it received a wonderful review:  

Dianne Duvall delivers scorching romance, gut-wrenching emotions, 
and heart-racing danger and suspense in her latest 
Immortal Guardian’s novel, Night Reigns!
Night Reigns was given another fantastic review

"Dianne Duvall . . . has accomplished another wonderful book in the Immortal Guardian series! The romance is swoon worthy and can be easily devoured in one sitting due to the impact this book puts on the reader."
I'm giving away 6 signed copies of Night Reigns this week on my blog tour, which will include character interviews.  Here's the schedule:

December 5, 2011 - Book Monster Reviews

December 5, 2011 - Literal Addiction


December 6, 2011 - Nocturne Romance Reads

December 7, 2011 - Parajunkee's View


December 9, 2011 - From the TBR Pile


Last Week's Stops

November 30, 2011 - Ramblings From This Chick
December 1, 2011 - The Jeep Diva
December 2, 2011 - Books and Things

Don't forget to enter my Kindle Contest for a chance to win one of two Kindles I'm giving away OR a $75 Kindle Gift Card if you already have one.  :-)  Details can be found here on my blog or on my website.
Thank you so much, everyone who has pre-ordered Night Reigns!  I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

Have a fantastic week!

Dianne

Friday, December 2, 2011

Favorite Quote Friday #14
Night Reigns Deleted Scene

Happy Friday!  This week really flew past (except when I was grumbling over internet service issues).  My Blog Tour began.  Night Reigns received some fantastic reviews.  And I launched my big Kindle Contest.  I'm also still editing Phantom Shadows, Book 3 in my Immortal Guardians series, which is coming along nicely and must be turned in later this month. 

As busy as things have been lately, however, I didn't forget a promise I made.  Night Reigns will be released on Tuesday, the 6th.  And, some time ago, I said I would post another deleted scene before then.  So . . . today is the day!  :-)

Favorite Quote Friday

Deleted Scene
The deleted scene I'm sharing with you today was originally intended to be a Prologue for Night Reigns.  I cut it for two reasons.  The first was word count.  I needed to pare Nights Reigns down a few thousand words after writing it.  The second reason was I worried that, because it isn't an action scene, it may not intrigue readers who hadn't read Darkness Dawns and weren't familiar with Marcus and Seth enough to be effective as a first scene.

On a side note, this scene was actually taken from a time travel romance entitled Rendezvous With Yesterday (not yet published) that I wrote before Darkness Dawns.  Seth and Marcus both appear in that one.  Seth has a small role.  Marcus, however, appears far more often as both a mortal teenaged squire to the hero in the 13th century and as an immortal (and the heroine's next-door neighbor) in the present.  Which is why he's one of my favorite characters.  I've seen him as a courageous boy on the threshold of manhood and as a powerful immortal.  :-)

* * * Darkness Dawns Spoiler Alert * * *

All but one tiny bit of information revealed in this deleted scene is revealed in Darkness Dawns, so you might want to skip it if you haven't read Darkness Dawns.  The tiny bit that wasn't revealed previously doesn't affect the plot of Night Reigns in any way, so I don't really consider it a spoiler for that one.
Night Reigns
Prologue

Houston, Texas

Rhythmic thumping and muted laughter filtered in from outside and broke the quiet of the master bedroom on the second floor of Marcus's modest two-story home. Peeling back the curtains of the window that overlooked the front yard, he carefully avoided the scorching afternoon sunlight and remained in the shadows while he watched the activity below.

Bethany, Josh, and Grant were attempting to teach Robert how to play basketball.

Beth and her older brother Josh had been Marcus's next-door neighbors ever since he had purchased this house twelve years ago. Grant was a close friend of all three of them and lived down the street. Robert . . .

Lord Robert, Earl of Fosterly, was the man who had trained Marcus in all aspects of chivalry and warfare over eight hundred years ago.

Marcus's lips twitched when the ball Robert hurled toward the goal careened off the backboard without so much as brushing the rim.

He was appallingly bad at it and clearly grew frustrated. To a man who could throw an axe or a dagger with astounding precision, sending a rubber ball through a net must appear a simple task to master. His inability to do so, however, was only partly responsible for the frown that creased Robert's brow.

In typical Houston fashion, temperatures rapidly approached the century mark. The heat index hovered a good ten degrees above that. Robert's face was flushed and wet with perspiration, his T-shirt completely saturated. His arms and thickly muscled legs, left bare by the shorts Josh had loaned him, dripped as well. He was definitely having a difficult time adjusting to the new climate and had to pause frequently to guzzle the cool water kept in the shade of the front porch.

While Josh loped off after the ball, Beth smiled up at Robert and offered him advice and encouragement.

What an unlikely couple they were. Born and raised eight centuries apart, they had nevertheless found enough similarities between them to fall deeply in love and marry when, two years ago, Beth had unexpectedly been whisked back in time to the beginning of the thirteenth century and landed in Robert's path. Marcus, a teenager at the time and Robert's devoted squire, had been completed enthralled by her.

Now she was back, having been allowed a brief time to spend with her brother and say her goodbyes before she returned to the Middle Ages, and had brought Robert with her.

In deference to Robert's medieval mind frame, Beth had foregone wearing shorts herself today — Robert balked at her revealing so much tempting bare flesh to others — and instead wore jeans and a T-shirt. Even these, Marcus knew, had spawned some disapproval; and he could understand why.

The jeans were a pale, pale blue and hugged her slender legs and firm, shapely ass like a second skin. They rode low on her hips and allowed teasing glimpses of the soft white skin of her narrow waist and muscled abs every time her T-shirt drifted up. Several damp patches darkened her red shirt, making it cling to her full breasts and small frame in alluring ways. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that jounced and danced with every movement. Damp curls had sprung loose and clung to her temples and the back of her neck.

Her pretty, flushed face glistening, she caught the ball Josh tossed her, flashed Robert a grin, and effortlessly sent the ball sailing through the net.

She was so damned beautiful. Her laughter so musical.

And he had missed her so damned much the two years she had been gone. How could he withstand losing her again when she returned to Robert's time?

“You can't,” a voice spoke behind him where seconds before there had been no one.

Marcus stiffened. “Can't what?”

“Do what you are thinking,” Seth informed him somberly.

For many long moments, Marcus said nothing. He simply continued to stare at the play below.

Robert attempted another free throw, missing the backboard entirely. The ball sailed over the top of it, rebounded off the roof, and flew clear across the street. Swearing foully, Robert stomped down the driveway after it, but made it only halfway before a smiling Bethany leapt onto his back. Laughing, he stumbled forward a couple of steps, then tucked his arms beneath her knees and carried her with him piggyback-style, grinning at her over his shoulder when she pecked him on the cheek.

“Would it be so bad?” Marcus whispered finally, loathing the despair and vulnerability the question revealed.

Seth sighed. An unhappy sound. “You know you cannot tell her who you are.”

“I would not have to,” Marcus pointed out. He had thought it all through very carefully: How he could approach her. What he could say that would produce the desired results without exposing all. “I could—”

“Bethany is an exceptionally bright and perceptive woman as you well know. She would figure it out.”

“Then you go to her.” Desperation driving him, Marcus glanced over his shoulder and located Seth, all six foot eight inches of him, lounging in the darkness just inside the doorway. “You were the one who took her back in time. She knows you possess knowledge the rest of us do not. She would listen to you. You go to her. Then she would not have to know who I am. She would not have to know what I have become. You could—”

“Marcus—”

Let me finish!” Silence descended in the aftermath of his shout. Marcus closed his eyes and mentally swore.

One did not yell at Seth.  He was the eldest immortal.  His power was incalculable. His true age, in what millennium he had been born, where he had been born, remained a mystery. All anyone knew with any certainty was that it was extremely unwise to cross him.

Yet Seth's face, when Marcus dared to look again, remained impassive.

“Very well,” he stated softly. “Continue.”

Marcus strove to moderate his voice and present a calm argument. “As I said, you would not have to tell her who I am. She knows you are gifted. That you can do things, know things others don't. All you would have to do is go to her and tell her you have had a vision or a dream and that she should do all in her power to keep me from journeying to London in September of the year 1213 or a terrible fate shall befall me.”

“If memory serves, she did attempt to prevent you from going to London—”

“Because she missed me and wanted me to visit longer,” Marcus gritted. “If she had thought some harm would befall me she would have fought tooth and nail to keep me at Fosterly. She would have chained me to the damned walls of the dungeon if necessary. So would Lord Robert have. If you tell her now, they will do so.”

“And then?”

Marcus returned his attention to the scene next door. “And then all of this will be wiped away,” he said tonelessly. “None of it will have happened. I would not be as I am and . . .” He shook his head. “All would be as it should be.”

“You cannot change your fate, Marcus.”

“Why can I not? You altered Bethany's fate. She would have died that day had you not plucked her from the present and delivered her to the past. And there is no telling what would have become of Lord Robert without her.”

A series of whoops and shouts erupted below as Robert scored his first basket.

Marcus had not anticipated what seeing Lord Robert again would do to him. The memories it would stir. The longing to recapture the deep abiding friendship and camaraderie they had shared. Robert had been the only real family Marcus had ever had, though they bore no blood relation. When, upon her return to the present, Beth had innocently introduced the two of them, Marcus had damned near broken down and wept.

“You misunderstand,” Seth spoke. “Bethany was always meant to live out her life with Lord Robert in the past. Just as you were always meant to live out your life as you have. I did not in any way alter her fate. Nor can I alter yours.”

“Fate,” Marcus snarled. “How I detest the word. If everything that happens is fated, how can there be free will?”

Seth sighed as if the complaint were not a new one. “The day of Bethany and Lord Robert's nuptials, I watched Lord Dillon engage his toddler son in a foot race.” Sadness flickered through Marcus. He had not thought of Robert's brother, Lord Dillon, or his wife Lady Alyssa in years. “Lord Dillon clearly had the advantage. And yet I knew before the race began that he was going to let his son win.” Seth paused. “Did my knowing ahead of time that Lord Dillon was going to throw the race in any way prevent him from making the decision to do so of his own free will?”

Marcus's fist tightened around the curtains. “No.”

“So it is with fate. You were fated to travel to London in September of 1213—”

“And be transformed against my will.”

“Yes. Some things cannot be changed, Marcus, even when it appears we have the power to do so.” There was great sorrow in Seth's voice. But not nearly as much as that which suffused Marcus.

He shook his head, wanting to scream a denial. It had been foolish to hope. Pointless.

His eyes fixed on Beth, followed her every move. His ears strained to hear every laugh, every teasing comment she made.

“I am weary of this existence,” he whispered despondently. “So incredibly weary that I must struggle to find a reason to rise each evening.”

“Did you rest at all today?” Seth asked in the most gentle voice Marcus had ever heard emerge from him.

“No. I cannot. Not while they are here. Not while she is here. I do not wish to miss a moment of it.” He swallowed hard against the lump that rose in his throat. “I will only have her for a few more days, Seth. What will I do when she is gone?”

Below, Beth squealed when Robert growled and swept her up into his arms, then dangled her upside down in response to her taunts and teases.

“Eight hundred years,” Marcus went on softly. “I have lived for over eight hundred years and the only happiness I ever experienced was during the time I lived at Fosterly as Robert's squire, then his knight . . . and this last decade I have spent living near Beth.”

“Your lifespan is that of a babe's compared to mine.”

Marcus continued as though Seth had not spoken. “There were decades . . . entire centuries really . . . when the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that I would see her again one day. That if I could just hold out another century — then another and another and another — I would be rewarded with her presence once more. I could see her smile. Hear her laugh. Feel one of her sharp jesting punches to my shoulder. Have her hugs. Her friendship. Her affection.”

“You could have had more than that, had you wished it,” Seth commented cautiously.

Marcus nodded. “Yes. That has been the sweetest torture of all, I think, knowing that she could have been mine.”

Beth, Josh, and Grant began to play a game of twenty-one while Robert took a few minutes to cool down.

“When I was a squire, she told me that she had once had a crush on her next-door neighbor. A crush on me, though she knew it not. I did not realize until we met again all of these centuries later that . . .”

“That she could have loved you.”

Just hearing it spoken aloud was painful. “Not like she loves Robert. Not like he loves her. She could have been content with me. But . . . they belong together. They were made for each other. Even you have admitted that. And I love them both too much to ever betray them by acting on my feelings.”

Robert brought Beth some water and was rewarded with a kiss.

“How I adore her,” Marcus murmured. “She is my light, Seth. My candle in the darkness that has become my existence. When she and Robert return to the thirteenth century a few days hence, that light will be forever extinguished. I will never see her again, will have nothing to look forward to to keep me going. What will I do?”

When next Seth spoke, he sounded infinitely weary. “You will do what we all do, Marcus. You will survive. And perhaps, in time, you will receive another, sweeter reward.”

Beth jumped up and down and cheered when the ball she had just thrown swirled around the rim twice, teetered, then finally fell through the goal.

“There can be none sweeter.”
I hope you'll let me know what you think!

Have a great weekend!

Dianne

Thursday, December 1, 2011

News and Reviews

The release of Night Reigns is only 4 days away!  I know I've said this before, but I'm so excited!  The reviews are already beginning to roll in:
"If you love PNR, action, and fun you really need to get into this series."
Books and Things

"Duvall really delivers with this installment . . . I’m looking forward to the next in this vastly different paranormal romance series."
The Jeep Diva

"Complex and captivating mythology, strong and sexy supernatural alpha males, smart and resourceful women, and stories that capture all the dark and dangerous moments that bring them together. "
All Things Urban Fantasy

Night Reigns is December's Book of the Month on Reading Between the wines Book Club!  Here's the schedule of events:




Schedule:
December 1st: Intro & Giveaway
December 4th: My Review of Night Reigns
December 6th: Dianne Duvall Post (Release day!!!)
December 12th: Character Face-Off: Roland vs. Marcus 
December 21st: Special Guest Review of Night Reigns
December 25th: Winner Announcement

My Night Reigns Blog Tour has begun!  Yesterday I was interviewed by Ramblings From This Chick.  Today I'm guest posting on The Jeep Diva.  And tomorrow, I'll guest post on Books and Things.  All three include giveaways, so I hope to see you there!
Have a wonderful day!

Dianne

* * * Kindle Contest * * *

To celebrate the release of Night Reigns, the
second book in my Immortal Guardians series,
I’m giving away TWO brand new Kindles.

Help me spread the word and YOU could win one!

Already have a kindle? No problem. You have the option of choosing a $75 Kindle gift certificate instead.

Here's How to Enter

  • 100 entries:  Purchase Night Reigns and send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a copy of the receipt (with all sensitive data blocked out) by midnight (Eastern Standard Time) December 31st with “Purchase Entry” in the subject line.
  • 50 entries:  Haven’t read Darkness Dawns yet or know someone else who hasn’t? Purchase Darkness Dawns and send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a copy of the receipt (with all sensitive data blocked out) by midnight (Eastern Standard Time) December 31st with “Darkness Dawns Purchase Entry” in the subject line.
 
  • 10 entries: Repost the above widget on your webpage and send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a link with “Webpage Entry” in the subject line. If the Get Widget button doesn't appear, just click on the widget and it will open a window that will allow you to copy the code.
  • 10 entries:  Have a working blog (one that is already up and running)?  Repost the above widget on your blog and send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a link with “Blog Entry” in the subject line. If the Get Widget button doesn't appear, just click on the widget and it will open a window that will allow you to copy the code.
  • 1 entry:   Have a facebook page? Repost the above image on your facebook page, mention the release of Night Reigns, and provide a link to my website. Then send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a link and screenshot with “Facebook Entry” in the subject line.
  • 1 entry:   Tweet about the release and contest, then send me (contest AT dianneduvall DOT com) a link with “Twitter Entry” in the subject line.  

The Rules

  • Contest begins December 1, 2011 and will last until December 31, 2011.
  • You must be 18 or older to enter.  By submitting any entry, you are attesting that this is so and giving me permission to list your name as winner.
  • All entries must be received by 11:59pm EST on December 31st.
  • You are welcome to enter in all of the ways listed above.
  • This contest is open worldwide.
  • If you post to a forum or Yahoo Group, please do not violate their rules.
  • Do not post this contest to sweepstakes or contest sites.
  • The winners will be selected using random.org and notified the first week of January. Winners will have one week to respond, otherwise new winners will be chosen.
Good Luck!