Friday, March 27, 2015

Favorite Quote Friday #165

Happy Friday!  This was another exciting week!  Thanks to all of you who pre-ordered it, A Sorceress of His Own again became an Amazon #1 Bestseller!!  Woohoo!



It's also #2 on some of #Amazon's Hot New Releases and Most Wished For lists.  


I'm so excited!  I'll have to think of a cool way to thank you, so—if you've pre-ordered it—stay tuned.  :-)

If this is your first time hearing about it, A Sorceress of His Own is the first book in my new series The Gifted Ones.  It will be released on June 2, 2015.  To celebrate the new series launch, I've discounted A Sorceress of His Own for a limited time—just $2.99.  If you haven't pre-ordered it and would like to lock in the $2.99 price, here are the links:

Kindle  iTunes  Kobo  Nook


Author's Taproom is planning a big blog tour for A Sorceress of His Own.  The tour will run from May 19th – June 16th, 2015 and will consist of author interviews, author guest posts, character interviews, spotlights, excerpts, chapter one, and a tour-wide giveaway via rafflecopter.  If you're a blogger and would like to participate, you can find out more HERE.


USA Today Bestseller 
Amazon  Audible • Barnes and Noble • iTunes • Kobo • Walmart

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Bastien, the villain of Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians Book 1) and the hero of Phantom Shadows (IG Book 3) has been on my mind a lot this week.  So I thought I would give you a quote from my latest release, Night Unbound, that features Lisette, the heroine, and Bastien.
"Give Melanie my love." 
He winked.  "I'll be too busy giving her mine."  Closing the door, he started the engine and sped away.
I love writing series.  I would've hated to say goodbye to Bastien after the first book.  He's so much fun to write.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

And the Winner is . . .


Thank you, everyone who joined me on the Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop!  The winner of my prize—a signed copy of Night Unbound + Immortal Guardians swag — is . . .

Dalene Rodman

Congratulations!!!

As always, the winer has one week to contact me — dianne [at] dianneduvall [dot] com — with her mailing address.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week!  

Dianne

Friday, March 20, 2015

Favorite Quote Friday #164

Happy Friday!  What an exciting week it has been!


June 2, 2015
Only $2.99 for a Limited Times
Kindle  iTunes  Kobo  Nook

A Sorceress of His Own, the first book in my new series The Gifted Ones, is now available for Pre-Order on Nook!  Woohoo!!  Thank you so much, everyone who has already Pre-Ordered it.  You made A Sorceress of His Own an Amazon #1 Bestseller!!!




Pre-Orders are so very important to authors.  I really appreciate it and hope you'll enjoy Dillon and Alyssa's story!!





Some cool new swag arrived on my doorstep, too.  Yay!!  I'll have to start giving some away in contests soon.  Two recent giveaway winners already have some on the way.  ;-)  





I'm also giving away a signed copy of Night Unbound, Immortal Guardians Book 5, plus swag in the Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop.  Tomorrow is the last day you can enter, so I hope you'll join the fun!  You can find my post HERE.


USA Today Bestseller 
Amazon  Audible • Barnes and Noble • iTunes • Kobo • Walmart

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  I received the nicest message from a friend on Facebook regarding Night Unbound this week.  So I thought I would give you another peek into its pages.  Today's selection is a narrative quote told from the POV of Zach (the hero) that gives you an inkling of how he feels about Lisette (the heroine).  ;-)

She was such a fascinating combination of fragility and strength, of vulnerability and ferocity.  The way she wielded her shoto swords, the agility with which she evaded the weapons of her opponents . . .

It just made him want to pounce.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne


Friday, March 13, 2015

Cover Reveal & Launch of a New Series!!!

Happy Friday!  Remember the exciting news I said I would share with you soon?  Well here it is:  I'm launching a new series!!!

THE GIFTED ONES
Book 1

Coming June 2, 2015
50% off—just $2.99—for a limited time!
Pre-Order Today!

Kindle • iTunes • Kobo

Blurb

Since the day Lord Dillon earned his spurs, rumors of his savagery on the battlefield have preceded him into every room, stilling tongues and sparking fear.  Weary of battle, he wishes only to find a woman he can wed who will approach him not with fear, but with the tenderness that has been absent from his life for so long.  Yet only the wisewoman seems invariably at ease in his presence.  Perhaps because she garners the same fear in others that he does himself.  

For seven years, Alyssa has been by Lord Dillon’s side, counseling him from the shadows, healing him with her hands, and staving off the worst of his loneliness while his fearsome reputation keeps others at bay.  Blessed—or cursed—with gifts that label her a sorceress, she is forced to conceal her youth and the love she harbors for him beneath umbral robes that lead Dillon and his people to believe she is the same aged wisewoman who served his father.  

All is revealed, however, and passions flare when an enemy threatens Dillon’s life and Alyssa sacrifices everything to save him.  When Dillon discovers that the wisewoman is far from elderly, he is instantly entranced.  And, as he and Alyssa work together to defeat an enemy bent on destroying them both, Dillon will risk anything—even the wrath of his king—to be with her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Isn't the cover beautiful?  I love it!

One of the questions I'm asked most often as a writer is what inspired my Immortal Guardians series.  Well, the easy answer is:  this book, A Sorceress of His Own.  There were, of course, other sources of inspiration:  a documentary on the water bear, research into possible explanations for the emergence of vampire folklore, and a biography of King George, to name a few.  But, long before Sarah Bingham rescued Roland Warbrook with her trusty shovel in Darkness Dawns, I wrote A Sorceress of His Own . . . and the gifted ones were born.
Alyssa, the heroine of A Sorceress of His Own, was the first gifted one I created.  And she, along with Seth, Roland and Marcus—all of whom appear in this book—fired my imagination and inspired many of the what ifs that drove me to create my Immortal Guardians.  I am so incredibly excited to bring you Alyssa’s story now. I hope you will enjoy it.  And, for those who have read my Immortal Guardians books, I hope you will enjoy seeing Marcus as a mortal teenaged squire.  You'll meet Bethany—the woman he loved for eight hundred years–in the sequel.  ;-)

This book WILL also be available both on Nook and in print.  And, to celebrate the launch of the new series, I've placed the books on sale—half price—for a limited time, so make sure you pre-order a copy to lock in the low price!  :-)


I plan to celebrate A Sorceress of His Own going up for pre-order by holding a giveaway this weekend over on Facebook.  I'm thinking . . . maybe a gift card?  


So drop by and join the fun!  And congratulations to the ladies who won my latest IG swag pack giveaways on Facebook and on tsu!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop


Welcome to the Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop!  Since St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, the theme for this fun hop is luck.  :-)

One of the questions I'm often asked as a writer is whether I'm a plotter or a pantser.  I am completely and wholeheartedly a pantser.  I don't create a detailed outline of my stories before I sit down to write them.  Nor did I outline my Immortal Guardians series before I wrote the first book.  And I am very lucky that I didn't.  If I had plotted out the series in the beginning, deciding whose story I would write in what order, I would have never written Zach's story—Night Unbound, Immortal Guardians Book 5.  

When I first introduced Zach's character, I intended for him to remain a dangerous and shadowy background character.  Then a scene in Phantom Shadows, Immortal Guardians Book 3, made me sit up and take notice.  (For fans of the series:  It was the lollipop scene.)  Much to my surprise and pleasure, Zach rapidly became one of my favorite characters in the series.  And I had such fun writing his book.

So I definitely feel lucky that I'm a pantser.  ;-)


USA TODAY Bestseller
with 180 5-star reviews on Amazon
Amazon • Barnes and Noble • Audible • iBooks • Kobo • Walmart

"Book after book, Duvall brings her readers complex,
fascinating tales of romance, danger and loyalty."
—RT Book Reviews

For centuries, Lisette d'Alençon has been a warrior against the dark. She fights alongside her brothers and comrades. But when the dreams start coming, she can't bear to confess them to the Immortal Guardians' command. Dreams of a dark-haired man with soft eyes and brutal wounds, a man her heart aches for—and a man she knows has been declared a traitor.

Zach is an exile, a loner. He won't defend himself against false accusations or grovel to those who should have faith in him. But he'll damn sure defend the woman who kept him sane against a plague of super-vamps that seems to have appeared from nowhere. The Guardians will blame him, and that will make Lisette suspect, too. With life, death and eternity on the line, who can they really trust? 

Excerpt

“Why are you doing this?”  Confusion colored Zach’s voice.

Lisette set the pasta down and gave him her full attention.  “Doing what?”

He hesitated.  “Helping me.  Being . . . kind to me.”

Why indeed?  She kept getting deeper and deeper and deeper into this . . . whatever this was.  “You saved my life.”

His lips tilted up in a faint smile that seemed to reflect cynicism, relief, and disappointment all at once.  “Ah.  You feel obligated.  I understand now.”

“Not obligated,” she corrected.  “Grateful.  And . . . ”

“And?” he prompted.

“Don’t you know?” she asked curiously.  “Haven’t you looked into my thoughts?”

“No.”

Interesting.  Seth and David seemed to lack any reservations when it came to reading the minds of their charges.  And, if she were honest, she and Étienne intruded on their friends’ thoughts far more often than they should.  One would think Zach, perhaps the antithesis of Seth, would possess even fewer scruples. 

Or did he lie?

Could he be testing her to see if she would tell him the truth?

Hell, what did she have to lose at this point?  

Crossing the kitchen, she stopped a foot away from Zach and tilted her head back to look up at him.

“Ask me again,” she ordered softly.

“Why are you doing this?” he murmured.

“Because I’m drawn to you, Zach.” 

His heart began to beat faster.  

As did hers.  “I’m drawn to you in a way that makes me want to risk everything just for the chance to know more of you.”

His eyes lit with a mild golden glow.  “Why?”

She gave her head a slow shake.  “I don’t know.  But I suspect . . . I hope . . . that it’s the same for you, that that’s why you came here—to me—when you were so badly injured and needed help.”

He raised one of his hands and, almost as though she were a bird he feared he might frighten away, captured a damp strand of hair that dangled in front of her ear, testing its texture with his fingers.  “I came to you because you were all I could think of while I was being tortured.”  He drew the lock closer to his face and breathed in the citrus scent of her shampoo.  “I came to you because you were all that enabled me to endure it.”

I am in so much trouble here, Lisette thought. 


My Giveaway



An autographed copy of Night Unbound along with an Immortal Guardians swag pack (2 postcards, 7 bookmarks, and 7 trading cards)


Details


The Reading Is Lucky Giveaway Hop runs from March 7, 2015, 12:00am EDT through March 21, 2015, 11:59pm EDT.  My giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada.

Mandatory entry
Leave a comment on this post during the hop (please include your email address) and tell me a book you are lucky (glad) you read.  :-)  Also mention extra entries.   

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  Friend or Follow me on tsu.

+1  Share my giveaway on Twitter.

+1  Share my giveaway on Facebook.

+1  Share my giveaway on tsu.

Selecting a Winner
I will use random.org to choose my prize winner after verifying all entries and will announce it here by March 25th.  If the winner's email address is included in her/his comment, I will email her/him, too.  The winner will have one week to contact me.

Have Fun on the Hop!!


Friday, March 6, 2015

Favorite Quote Friday #163—Night Unbound Excerpt

Happy Friday!  I've been spending this week with Ethan, Heather and my Immortal Guardians family while I go over Shadows Strike copyedits, and have compiled a nice long list of favorite quotes to share with you.  :-)



If you haven't heard yet, Shadows Strike is now available for pre-order.  If you're planning to pick up a copy, I hope you'll consider pre-ordering it.  Pre-orders are so important to authors, and are always greatly appreciated.  :-)



AND look what arrived on my doorstep!


Shadows Strike swag!  I've already added it to my ever-growing Immortal Guardians swag pack and started giving it away on Facebook.  :-)  


This is going to be an exceptionally busy year for me, so many of my giveaways (outside of blog tours) will take place on social media sites, most likely on Facebook or tsu.  I'm really liking tsu so far.  Facebook hides so many posts from me.  It's nice to see all of my friends' posts in my news feed for a change.  I've missed that.  :-)  Writing sometimes compels me to drop offline for a bit when I'm working like crazy to meet a deadline.  Whenever I do, my friends always disappear from my Facebook news feed.  That doesn't happen with tsu.  (Yay!)  So if you decide to join, I hope you'll connect with me!


USA Today Bestseller 
with 180 5-star reviews on Amazon
#Amazon  #Audible • Barnes and Noble #iTunes • #Kobo #Walmart

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Since I'm diligently going over copyedits on Shadows Strike, Immortal Guardians Book 6, I thought I would feature a brief excerpt of the scene in Night Unbound (Book 5) that made me want to write Ethan's story next.  I've heard from a lot of readers who say they laugh whenever they think of what has become known as . . . The Shovel Scene.  LOL.  It's a favorite of mine, so I'm thrilled that so many liked it.  

It's quite a long scene, so I thought I would just whet your appetite.  It features Lisette, the heroine of Night Unbound, and Ethan, the hero of Shadows Strike.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lisette stood quietly beside [Ethan], fighting the urge to chew a thumbnail, as he stared down at Zach for several long minutes.

“Where’s the shovel?” he asked.

“The shovel?” she repeated, confused.

“Yeah.  You want me to bury him, right?”

Her eyebrows flew up.  “What?  No.  He isn’t dead.”

“He isn’t?  I don’t hear a heartbeat.”

“It’s there.  The pauses between are just very long.”    

“Oh.  Right.  There it is.  I just heard one.”  Another moment passed.  “So, who is he?”

Lisette frowned up at Ethan.  “Wait.  What exactly did you think had happened here?”

He shrugged.  “I figured you must have brought a mortal home, gotten carried away, and accidentally killed him.”

“During sex?” she asked incredulously.

“He is half naked,” he pointed out.  “And you said Seth would be pissed.  You know how protective Seth is of mortals.  He does not react well when an immortal inadvertently kills one.”

“When have you ever known me to engage in rough sex?”

“Quebec.  1985.”

She opened her mouth, paused, thought about it, then nodded.  “Okay.  You’re forgiven.”

He sent her a sly glance from the corner of his eye.  “For 1985?”

She unsuccessfully fought a smile.  “No.”

He laughed.  “Then for what?”

“For drawing the freakiest conclusion you could draw from this situation.”

Still grinning, he shrugged.  “It was inevitable.  I have sex on the brain tonight.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, Ethan, how you entertain me.  :-)

I'll be posting again tomorrow for the Lucky is Reading Giveaway Hop.  Many prizes will be up for grabs, so I hope you'll join the fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne