Friday, March 30, 2012

PHANTOM SHADOWS
Cover & Blurb Reveal

I'm so excited!  I'm deviating from the usual Favorite Quote Friday today so I can bring you the cover of Phantom ShadowsWoohoo! – and the book's blurb:

Phantom Shadows

Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural.
She knows immortals better than they know themselves,
right down to their stubborn little genes. So although
a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her
colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His
history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his
ideas are daring. But it’s not his ideas that have Melanie
fighting off surges of desire . . .  

Bastien is used to being the bad guy. In fact, he can’t
remember the last time he had an ally he could trust.
But Melanie is different – and under her calm,
professional exterior he senses a passion beyond
anything in his centuries of experience. Giving in to
temptation is out of the question – he can’t put her in
danger. But she isn’t asking him . . .

Phantom Shadows is the third book in my Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series and will be released on October 2, 2012.  I can't wait! 

Have a fantastic weekend!

Dianne


Wednesday, March 28, 2012

And the Winner is . . .

Hi, all!  The winner of my contest for the 18 & Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop has been chosen!  Yay!

Congratulations,
Susan W.!

I've already been in contact with Susan and will get her signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag in the mail this week.

And the winner of my contest for the March Madness Blog Party is:

Lindsey E.!
Congratulations!

Her prize pack is already en route.  :-)
Today is also the day of my second Q&A over at The Romance Reviews, whose 1st Anniversary Party is still going strong.  There are hundreds of prizes up for grabs, so – if you haven't checked it out yet – drop by and join the fun!  :-)

Have a great week!

Dianne

Friday, March 23, 2012

Favorite Quote Friday #27

It's Friday again!  Woohoo!  What a busy week!  I'll be mailing signed books and Immortal Guardians swag to more contest winners this afternoon, as well as a prize for a future contest on another blog.  Yay!  I love giveaways!
I guest posted at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf on Tuesday, and there's still time to enter my contest.  Drop by and get to know some great vampires and their human assistants from the past century, then enter to win a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag.  :-) 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I received some fabulous news from The Romance Reviews.  
Darkness Dawns has been nominated for Best Book of 2011 - Debut Book (Romance).
Night Reigns has been nominated for Best Book of 2011 - Paranormal Romance.  If you want to check out the other nominees and cast your vote, you can do so HERE from March 16th through March 31st. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm also participating in the 18 and Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop (see my last post).  Lots of prizes are up for grabs on the hop, so feel free to join the fun!  And thank you, those of you who already have!  :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now for Favorite Quote Friday.  Today's selection is taken from Darkness Dawns.  It's a snippet taken from a conversation between Sarah, the heroine, and Roland, the hero.  Sarah speaks first:

“I’m not really understanding how you differ from the 
vampires other than that they’re assholes and you’re not.”

He laughed.  “Some of my colleagues might disagree
with you on that one.”
 
Have a fantastic weekend!  :-)

Dianne

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

18 & Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop

Today is the first day of the
18 & Over Book Blogger
Giveaway Hop!

The 18 & Over Book Blogger Giveaway Hop runs from 12:01am March 22nd through to 11:59pm March 25th 2012, and is hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance and Getting Naughty Between the Stacks.

Since I'm supposed to do something naughty for the hop, I thought I would post an excerpt of Darkness Dawns that is a little spicy.  :-)  For the prize, I'm giving away your choice of either a signed copy of Darkness Dawns or a signed copy of Night Reigns.  I'll also throw in some Immortal Guardians swag.  :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darkness Dawns
Excerpt

(I'll preface this by mentioning that Roland can heal with his hands.)

Curling her hand around his strong biceps, Sarah rose onto her toes and kissed his freshly shaven cheek.

Roland’s pulse increased as warmth unfurled in his chest like a cat awakening from a nap.  Sarah returned her heels to the floor and gazed up at him with tenderness softening her hazel eyes.

“Why did you do that?” he asked, reaching up to touch the tingling skin her lips had brushed.

She smiled.  “I wanted to.  And you looked like you might need it.”

Had he?  The old anger had risen up to choke him as it always did when he thought of Edward.  Yet it had dissolved the instant she had kissed him, her delectable scent sweeping over him, intoxicating him.

He had needed it.  Needed that and so much more.  He needed her.  He needed . . .

Slowly lowering his head, Roland claimed her lips in an excruciatingly gentle exploration. 

Her breath caught.  Eyelids drifting closed, she parted her lips and invited him within.

Roland eagerly complied, his tongue gliding in to stroke and tease hers.  His body tightened as lust hit him hard.  Touching her sides just beneath her arms, he drew her nearer.  She was so small.  So delicate.  He could feel the faint ridges of her ribs beneath his fingers as his thumbs brushed the sides of her full breasts.

Sarah thought her heart might burst from her chest as Roland’s lips seduced hers, first gently, then hungrily, speeding her pulse.  Fire danced through her as his thumbs stroked the sides of her breasts, straying ever closer to the sensitive peaks.  Again she rose onto her toes so he wouldn’t have to bend down so far.  Smoothing her hands up his chest and around his neck, she leaned into him and buried her fingers in his hair, clutched a silky fistful.

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to him, a low growl rumbling in his throat.  Sarah winced when one of his hands slid up her back and put fleeting pressure on the large bruise a tree had spawned.  At least, she assumed there was a bruise.  She had forgotten to look earlier, but it hurt badly enough.

His other hand followed the same path, triggering the same sharp pain.

A niggling thought pricked her.

Dragging her lips from his, she turned her head aside and tried to clear her muddled thoughts.

Roland merely kissed a path along her jaw and down her neck, making her knees go weak.

“Wait,” she protested feebly.

His body hard and throbbing with need, Roland drew his tongue across the pulse that beat rapidly just beneath the soft skin at the base of Sarah’s neck.  “You smell so good,” he whispered hoarsely.

“That isn’t me.  It’s your expensive bath products.”

He shook his head.  “It’s you.”  He drew in a long deep breath and held it a moment.  It was stronger now and mingled with the even more enticing scent of her budding arousal.  “You could set me down blindfolded in the middle of a packed football stadium and I could find you by your scent alone.  No perfume on the planet can compare.”

She tasted good, too, he discovered, brushing his lips over her soft skin.  And there was so much more of her he wanted to taste.  To feel.  To stroke.  Explore.

Resenting the T-shirt that kept him from touching bare flesh, he caressed her back and sought her succulent lips once more.

“Wait,” she said again, pressing against his chest.  “Where are your hands?”

A groan of frustrated desire welled up inside him, but he didn’t let it escape.  Swearing silently, Roland forced himself to take a step back, held his hands out to his sides where she could see them and wished fervently that she had waited a little longer to come to her senses.  They were both breathing hard as she stared up at him with lips red and swollen from his kisses.  Her lovely breasts rose and fell rapidly beneath the cotton of her T-shirt, making him clench his hands into fists to avoid reaching for her.

He supposed he should apologize.  He had taken an innocent gesture of affection and turned it into something else entirely.  Not what she had expected, he was sure.

“Were you healing me again?” she demanded breathlessly.

He blinked at the odd question.  “What?”

“Your hands were on my back.  Were you trying to heal me on the sly again?”

He frowned.  “What’s wrong with your back?”

Her fingertips still touched his chest, holding him at bay.  She waved the other hand dismissively.  “Just answer the question.  The last time you kissed me, you only did it to distract me while you healed me.”

She didn’t really believe that, did she?

The suspicion and hurt reflected in her eyes suggested she did.

Well, hell.

“Distracting you while I healed you was only an excuse.  I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I woke up with your beautiful body stretched atop mine and your enchanting scent making my head swim.”  He paused.  “No.  No, that’s not true.  I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since you held me in your kitchen after helping me remove the spikes.  That was a bit earlier.”

Her hands falling limply to her sides, she swallowed visibly.  “Really?”

He nodded slowly, then took a step closer as a spark of heat returned to her eyes.

When she backed into the counter, he braced his hands on either side of her, trapping her in between.  “You don’t know how much I regret passing out this morning.  Missing the feel of your hands bathing my naked flesh.”  Leaning down until his lips nearly touched the sensitive skin beneath her ear, he drew in a slow deep breath.  “I love your scent.”  He let his lips follow a path down her neck to the hollow where it met her shoulder, still close but not touching, breath warming her skin.  “Your every touch inflames me, leaves me hard and aching, unable to hide my reaction to you.”  Raising his head, he stared down at her.  “Can you truly not know how much I want you?”

She reached up and rested her palm against his cheek.  Roland covered her small hand with his and held it there, savoring her touch.

“Your eyes are glowing again,” she whispered.

“They’ll always glow when I want you.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Once, Sarah Bingham's biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she's landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control . . .

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible -- when it mean forfeiting the world she's always known, and the life he would do anything to protect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Ami isn't much for trusting strangers.  She has a hard time trusting anyone.  But she's no coward, and she's no pushover in the protection department either.  So when she comes across a mysterious warrior taking on eight deranged vampires on his own, she doesn't hesitate to save his bacon.  Of course, that was before she realized what one little rescue would get her into . . .

Marcus Grayden has been an immortal protector of humanity for eight hundred years, and at the moment he's not interested in backup.  From the moment Ami arrives in his life, he can't deny that she's strong, smart, and extremely skilled at watching his back.  But she's also destroying his protective solitude and stirring desires he can't bear to awaken.  After all, whatever her secrets -- how can she defeat death itself?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contest Details

The contest lasts from 12:01am March 22nd to 11:59pm March 25th 2012.

International entries are welcome.   

Mandatory entry
Leave a comment below.  :-)  Please mention any extra entries.  If you don't include your email address in your comment (feel free to write it out), you will have to check back here to see if you've won.  I'll announce it by March 28th. 

Extra entries
For extra entries you may do any or all of the following, but be sure to mention them in your comment.   

+1  Follow my blog. 

+1  Like My Facebook Page.

+1  Follow me on Twitter.

Selecting a Winner
I will use random.org to choose a winner after verifying all entries and will announce it here by March 28th.  If the winner's email address is included in her comment, I will email her, too.  The winner will have one week to contact me.

There are many prizes up for grabs by other authors and bloggers.  Good luck!  And have fun on the hop!

Dianne Duvall

Friday, March 16, 2012

Favorite Quote Friday #26

Happy Friday!  I hope all of my student, teacher, and professor friends out there have been enjoying Spring Break!  :-)  For those who, like me, aren't any of the above, I hope you'll soon be able to take a vacation, too! 

 
Thank you so much, everyone who joined in the Feelin' Lucky Giveaway Hop fun and entered my contest!  The winner is:

Kristina P.!

Congratulations!!!

I'm being interviewed today as part of Elise Rome's 2nd Annual March Madness Blog Party!  Find out why writing romance novels is so important to me, what I love most about being part of the romance community, and more, then enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag.  :-)  
You can find the interview and contest HERE. 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––



Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Also, I'll be guest posting over at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf on Tuesday, March 20th.  The title:  "Who's Your Second?"  I had so much fun writing this post because I got to look up lots of pictures to ad to it.  :-)  So drop by, take a walk through fictional history, and get to know some great vampires and their human assistants, then enter to win a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag.  :-)  
See you there!

And now it's time for Favorite Quote Friday!  Today's selection is taken from Night Reigns, the second book in my Immortal Guardians series, and is spoken by the hero:

"What the hell are you doing to my cat?”
~ Marcus ~

Poor Slim (the crazy kitty).  LOL!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Favorite Quote Friday #25

Happy Friday!  This week really flew past!  It was much more productive than last week, too.  Yay!  :-)  I hope you had a good one!

News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Romance Reviews chose the winner of a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag, one of the hundreds of prizes up for grabs in their  month-long 1st Anniversary Party.
Congratulations, Anne M.!

Reviews
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some fantastic reviews of the Darkness Dawns Audiobook have been rolling in.  Here are some of my favorite snippets + links to the full reviews.  :-)

Carmel at Rabid Reads gave it 5 paws:
"I’m just going to come out and say it right off the bat so that when I start babbling like a love-struck school girl you’ll have been warned… I love, love, LOVED this book! Darkness Dawns is flirty, energetic and features one of the cutest paranormal couples that I’ve ever encountered."

"Duvall achieved near perfection when she created Roland and Sarah . . . I couldn’t help but crack a smile every time these two interacted with each other. Had they been real, I could have spent hours just watching them."

"Kirsten Potter’s narration does Darkness Dawns justice. Her accents are dead-on and her voice is mesmerizing."

Read the full review HERE.

Christi at Smitten With Reading rated it an A:
"Another fabulous audio book.  Another fabulous new series.  Another author to obsess about."

"From the moment Sarah finds Roland staked out in her pasture, I did not want to put this audiobook down . . . almost eleven hours and every single one of them were so good! I can't even pinpoint the precise thing that makes this book so good because all of it was. I loved Sarah and Roland together. Their chemistry is astounding."

"Sarah and Roland's romance is so gorgeous and is somehow different from other romances. I don't even know if I can pinpoint how it was different, but it was and it was simply magic on the page."

Read the full review HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now it's time for Favorite Quote Friday!  Today's selection is taken from Night Reigns, Book 2 in my Immortal Guardians series.  It is a narrative quote told from the heroine's perspective.
  
Silent wails of anguish echoed within the confines of her skull.  Roars of fury.  Prayers for death.  Vows of vengeance.  Coherent thought fled, replaced by the spitting, slathering ramblings of an animal kicked once too often. 

Then, amidst the madness:  A voice.  Deep.  Calm.  Soothing.  One she had heard before and labeled a meaningless manifestation of her slowly fragmenting mind.

We are here
, it said.  He said.  Louder.  Almost as if he stood just outside the room.  We will be with you soon, little one, and will take you far away from here.

Her mind silenced.

Just a little longer, then you will be free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Feelin' Lucky Giveaway Hop!

Today is the first day of the
Feelin' Lucky Giveaway Hop!
 
Fictional Candy

The Feelin' Lucky Giveaway Hop runs from 12:01am March 7th through to 11:59pm March 13th 2012, and is hosted by I Smell Sheep and Fictional Candy:

Let's ring in Saint Patricks Day in Style! Hunky men/women/ghouls/vamps/shifters/dogs/animal crackers whatever. All are welcome to take part in this Irish fest so grab a green beer and join us!

If I had a book that featured an Irish Immortal Guardian, I would offer it up for a prize.  Alas, I don't.  The heroes of both of the first two books in my Immortal Guardians series were born in Medieval England.  :-)   So I'm giving away your choice of either a signed copy of Darkness Dawns or a signed copy of Night Reigns.  I'll also throw in some Immortal Guardians swag.  :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once, Sarah Bingham's biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she's landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control . . .

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible -- when it mean forfeiting the world she's always known, and the life he would do anything to protect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Ami isn't much for trusting strangers.  She has a hard time trusting anyone.  But she's no coward, and she's no pushover in the protection department either.  So when she comes across a mysterious warrior taking on eight deranged vampires on his own, she doesn't hesitate to save his bacon.  Of course, that was before she realized what one little rescue would get her into . . .

Marcus Grayden has been an immortal protector of humanity for eight hundred years, and at the moment he's not interested in backup.  From the moment Ami arrives in his life, he can't deny that she's strong, smart, and extremely skilled at watching his back.  But she's also destroying his protective solitude and stirring desires he can't bear to awaken.  After all, whatever her secrets -- how can she defeat death itself?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contest Details
The contest lasts from 12:01am March 7th through to 11:59pm March 13th 2012.

International entries are welcome.   

Mandatory entry
Leave a comment below and let me know who your favorite Irish hero is from books, film, or television.  :-)  Also mention extra entries.  If you don't include your email address in your comment (feel free to write it out), you will have to check back here to see if you've won.  I'll announce it by March 16th. 

Extra entries
For extra entries you may do any or all of the following, but be sure to mention them in your comment.   

+1  Follow my blog. 

+1  Like My Facebook Page.

+1  Follow me on Twitter.

+1  Mention my giveaway on Twitter.

+1  Share this post on facebook. 

Selecting a Winner
I will use random.org to choose a winner after verifying all entries and will announce it here by March 16th.  If the winner's email address is included in her comment, I will email her, too.  The winner will have one week to contact me.

There are many prizes up for grabs by other authors and bloggers.  Good luck!  And Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Dianne Duvall


Monday, March 5, 2012

Immortal Guardians Music Monday #6

Good morning!  I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend!  Mine was fantastic!  Just what I needed.  :-)  And today is starting off much brighter than last Monday, so I thought I'd begin the week with some news and music.  :-)
First, I'd like to thank everyone who dropped by The Romance Reviews forum and chatted with me over the weekend!  I'm very excited to be participating in their month-long 1st Anniversary Party.  There are hundreds of prizes up for grabs, including a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag. 
The first of two Immortal Guardians Q&As will be posted today on The Romance Reviews' Event page along with Q&As by other authors and a fun romance novel memory game.  You can check it out here.  (Note:  You may have to log in first.
If you're new to my blog:  Every once in a while I include a little music in my posts.  Sometimes it's a song that appears in an Immortal Guardians book in some form or other (perhaps as a ringtone, a tune sung by a character, etc.).  Sometimes it's something I listen to while writing or editing.  And sometimes it's just a song that reminds me of one of the characters in my series or of their world in general.  :-)  Today's Immortal Guardians Music Monday selection is part of the playlist I'm listening to today while I work on Book 4.  I hope you enjoy it!
Slipknot - Duality

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Dianne

Friday, March 2, 2012

Favorite Quote Friday #24

Happy Friday!  I hope your week was a good one!  Mine was pretty rotten thanks to the hassles of home repairs, but I'm hoping the weekend will make up for it.  :-)
Author Chat Today

I'm participating in The Romance Reviews' 1st Anniversary Party this month. Yay!  Up for grabs is a signed copy of Night Reigns + Immortal Guardians swag and hundreds of other prizes.   I will be chatting in their forum today.  Here's a direct link:  http://www.theromancereviews.com/forum/index.php?topic=29.0

If, for some reason, that one doesn't work, follow this link, scroll down to "EVENTS", click on "TRR Anniversary Party March 2012" and you'll see "Author Chat: Dianne Duvall (March 2)" I'm pretty sure you have to login to post.  I'll be popping in throughout the day and night to answer questions and just shoot the breeze with anyone who feels like chatting.  I think I've only done a chat once before, so I hope it goes well.  :-)

There will also be two Immortal Guardians "Q and As" at The Romance Reviews:  One on Monday, March 5th and another on Thursday, March 28th.
And now it's time for Favorite Quote Friday!  Today's selection is taken from Night Reigns, Book 2 in my Immortal Guardians series.  In it, Marcus (the hero) is referring to Roland, his best friend and the hero of Darkness Dawns, Book 1 in the series.  :-) 

“He may be a crotchety old fart on the outside,
but deep down he’s a real softie.”
~ Marcus ~

I'll leave Roland's response for another day.  :-)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  For those who intend to join me for the chat:  See you soon!

Dianne