Favorite Quote Friday—A Blast from the Past

Happy Friday!  I had a great writing week.  Aidan and his leading lady have been making me smile and laugh a lot.  I hope you'll enjoy reading their story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.  :-)

I'll be giving away an Immortal Guardians and The Gifted Ones Swag Pack or two on my Facebook page this weekend.  I hope you'll drop by and join the fun!

Great news.  Rendezvous with Yesterday has been nominated for Favorite Historical Romance in the 2016 GraveTells Readers Choice Awards.  Woohoo!  If you'd like to cast your vote, voting continues through December 19th, 9PM Pacific Time.  :-)  

Speaking of Facebook . . .  I've been hearing from readers who haven't been seeing my posts as often as they used to.  Those of you who have pages of your own know that Facebook is constantly changing its algorithms and letting pages reach fewer and fewer of the people who have liked their pages.  So I thought I'd share direct links to some of my posts from time to time.  :-)  Here are some of this week's:

Kickboxing Aerobics and Cupcakes

Stephen King on the Strange Power of Childhood

#TeaserTuesday Rendezvous with Yesterday

You were right.  It's termites

Sorry to see the weekend end

And an older post that is still getting attention.  :-)

Sheldon got some odd looks at the park today . . .

Amazon/Kindle • Audible • Barnes&Noble/Nook

iBooks/iTunes • Kobo • Walmart

Amazon CA • Amazon UK

It's time once more for Favorite Quotes Friday!  Bastian played a role in a scene I just wrote, which brought his book to mind.  So today I thought I'd share a mini-excerpt of Phantom Shadows:

_________________________________

Seth returned his attention to Bastien.  “You have company.”

Bastien looked at Melanie.

“Not her,” Seth said with exasperation.  “A handful of vampires are headed this way.  You’ll hear them momentarily.”  He reached out and touched Tanner’s shoulder.

“Wait!”

“What?”

Bastien stared at him.  “What are you doing?  Aren’t you going to take Dr. Lipton with you?”

“No.  I want her to continue monitoring you.”

“While I’m fighting vampires?” Bastien asked incredulously.

“She’s been trained.”  Seth looked at Melanie, who nodded she was okay with it.

Then Seth and Tanner disappeared.

Bastien couldn’t believe it.  He turned to Melanie.  “What did he mean you’ve been trained?”

She shrugged sheepishly.  “I can kick ass.”

She said it with such reluctance that Bastien felt a rush of amusement.  His lips twitched as he fought a smile.

“What?” she demanded with a frown.  “You think I can’t?”  She crossed her arms in a defensive pose that only drew his attention to her lovely breasts.

“No, it’s just . . .”  Eyes up.  “You looked so chagrined when you said it, like someone admitting they’d just farted or something.”

She laughed and lowered her arms.  “It just felt weird to say it.  I’ve never been comfortable tooting my own horn.”

Something as simple as her smile should not make his heart race and his body react in unsuitable ways.  It really shouldn’t.

But it did.  It also cast a spell that made it impossible for him to avoid smiling back.

This was not good.

_________________________________

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

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.

A 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

Favorite Quote Friday #134

Happy Friday!  I had some really great writing days this week.  :-)  Immortal Guardians Book 6 is coming along very nicely.  I love the banter between the hero and heroine . . . who shall remain nameless for a little bit longer.  ;-)

For those of you who are on Facebook, I'll be doing an Author Takeover on the Little Shop of Readers page on Thursday night, June 26th.  This is my first ever Author Takeover.  Woohoo!!  I'm thinking there will be giveaways.  My new swag will have arrived by then.  :-)  Perhaps some sneak peeks.  And I'd love to chat with you and answer any questions you may have, so I hope I'll see you there!

I thought I would also mention that Tantor Audio, producers of my Immortal Guardians audiobooks, is having a sale this month.  50% off all titles and all formats with free shipping over $25.  Here's a link to my books on Tantor.com.

Amazon • Kindle • Barnes and Noble • Nook • iBooks • BAM!

September 2, 2014

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  I thought I'd give you another sneak peek of Night Unbound, Immortal Guardians Book 5, today.  :-)  In this scene, you'll find immortals Lisette (the telepathic heroine of Night Unbound), Bastien (villain of Darkness Dawns and hero of Phantom Shadows), and Ethan:

[Bastien] scowled.  "Are you reading my thoughts again, telepath?" 

"I didn't have to.  It was all over your face.  Besides, I stopped peeking into your head a long time ago because all you ever think about is Melanie naked and your vampire friends." 

Ethan's eyebrows flew up.  "He thinks about Melanie naked with his vampire friends?" 

Bastien popped him on the back of the head.

The thing I love most about writing a series is not having to say goodbye to my favorite characters.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #132

Happy Friday!  I hope you had a good week.  Mine was filled with refreshingly dark skies, frequent rains, and the wonderful rumble of thunder.  Perfect writing weather!  It was a nice change.  I even saw a double rainbow.  :-)

I also had a fantastic writing day yesterday and am starting to feel excited about Immortal Guardians Book 6.  I probably won't reveal who the hero and heroine are, though, until after Night Unbound is released in September.  :-)  (I was soooooo tempted to post a quote from Book 6 today.)

I got a nice surprise when I went to my local Walmart:  Darkness Rises, Immortal Guardians Book 4, was sitting proudly on the bookshelves.  And look what fantastic company it's keeping!  I knew all of my books were available on Walmart.com, but didn't know the last one had hit store shelves.  Very exciting!  :-)

A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

Amazon • Kindle • Barnes and Noble • Nook

iBooks • Kobo • Walmart • Audible

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  For today's selection, I thought I would give you a quote that features Bastien—villain of Darkness Dawns (Book 1) and hero of Phantom Shadows (Book 3)—one of my favorite characters in the series who, incidentally, plays an interesting role in Night Unbound (coming September 2nd).  The quote is taken from Phantom Shadows:

Bastien really should be more upset about being stuck with Melanie than he was—which was not at all—but, damn it, he liked her.  And with her face flushed with fury, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths beneath her long-sleeved shirt, and every word emerging a shout . . . 

"She's hot when she's pissed, isn't she?" Cliff asked in a voice too soft for her to hear.

Bastien flung daggers at him with his eyes.  "Watch it." 

"Oh, please.  As if you weren't already thinking it yourself." 

"That doesn't mean I want you thinking it," he grumbled.

In case you haven't guessed yet, Cliff is my favorite vampire in the series.  He plays an interesting role in Night Unbound  too.  :-)

Have a great weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #118

Happy Friday!  We had the best weather last night.  Cold.  Wet.  Dreary.  It may sound crazy, but since we have swelteringly hot, drought-ridden, blindingly bright weather for most of the year, it was a very nice change.  :-)

And cold, wet, dreary weather is perfect for curling up with a good book while toasting one's toes before a fire.  ;-)

My Article "Characters:  Sometimes They Surprise You" appeared in the January 2014 issue of The Romance Reviews.  Check it out on page 28 and see how characters Bastien, Ami, and Zach changed the story arc of my Immortal Guardians series.  :-)

Speaking of Bastien . . .

Love bad boys?  Can't resist a black sheep?  Then you're in luck, because I'm giving away a signed copy of Phantom Shadows + Immoral Guardians swag in my Valentine's Contest!  If you're new to my series, I'll give you a little teaser by saying that Bastien entered it as a villain.  He didn't just buck the system, he tried to bring it down and took being a bad boy to a whole new level.  :-)  The contest is already underway and lasts through February 9, 2014.  You can enter HERE.

I'm also giving away a signed copy of Darkness Dawns + lots of Immortal Guardians swag to celebrate the New Year.  See how the series began!  :-)  This contest lasts through January 31st.  You can enter HERE.

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  For today's selection, I thought I would give you a taste of a scene I mentioned in my article for The Romance Reviews.  It takes place in Phantom Shadows, Immortal Guardians Book 3, and features Ami (the heroine of Night Reigns) and Zach (the hero of Night Unbound).  I'll preface the quote by mentioning that Ami and Zach have just met for the first time in this scene.  Zach, who is not part of the Immortal Guardians family, has been tortured; and Ami sought him out after sensing his pain.  The scene is told from Zach's POV.

Don’t you fear me?  With her history, he would’ve thought she would be terrified of him.  He was, after all, aware of the anxiety that struck her whenever she encountered strangers.

And he was as strange a stranger as she would meet.

No.

Why?

She shrugged.  You remind me of Seth.

Well, hell.

I suppose I should ask . . .  Are you friend or foe?

That was a head-scratcher.  Neither?

If you’re not one, you’re the other.

If only things were that simple.

She shivered.  The cold must be creeping in through her jacket.

Gritting his teeth, he spread his wings, then drew them in close to form a shield that insulated her from the wintery wind.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.  I knew you were a friend.

This is one of my favorite scenes.  And, like bad boy Bastien, Zach has become one of my favorite characters.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #117

Happy Friday!  I hope you've had a good week.  2014 has gotten off to a weird, hectic start for me.  I haven't had hardly any time online lately and am now trying to play catch-up.

I'm very happy to say Darkness Rises was chosen as one of Kari's Top 10 of 2013 over at From the TBR Pile!  She gave it a great review when it was released in October.  Here's a snippet:

"I'll start out by saying, this series just keeps getting better and better.  I know I say this every time, but I am so sad when I finish one of these books.  They just don't come out fast enough . . ."

You can read the rest of the review HERE.  

Also, Étienne from Darkness Rises made Carmel of Rabid Reads' Top 10 Book Boyfriends of 2013 list!  She, too, gave it a wonderful review in October:

"It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in one sitting but as soon as I opened Darkness Rises there was just no stopping!"

You can read the rest of the review HERE.

I'm also working on updating my website.  If you visit it, you'll find excerpts, trailers, character interviews (in the free stuff section), contests, the latest news, a brief Immortal Guardians handbook, and more.  If there's something you're interested in seeing on the site that isn't there, I'm open to suggestions.  :-)

Amazon • Kindle • Barnes and Noble
Nook • iBooks • Kobo • Walmart • Audible

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Bastien has been on my mind a lot this week, so I thought I would choose a quote from his book, Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians Book 3), for today's selection.  This scene takes place early in the novel and features Bastien and Dr. Melanie Lipton, the heroine:

“How do you feel?” she asked.  

“Like someone dropped an anvil on my head.”

Pretty brow furrowed, she touched his wrist to gauge his pulse and glanced over at the clock on the wall.

Her emotions flowed into him, courtesy of the gift with which Bastien had been born.   So much concern.  He wasn’t worth it.  But he devoured the sweetness of it like a piece of German chocolate pie after a long, long fast.

Relief replaced some of her concern.  “Your pulse is strong.”

And running faster than usual thanks to her nearness and her gentle touch.

I really like the role Bastien plays in Night Unbound and hope you will too.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #95

Happy Friday!  I hope you had a good week!  We actually finally had some rain here that temporarily dropped temperatures twenty degrees or so, taking us out of the triple digits.  There was even a rumble or two of thunder.  So nice.

And two women whose opinions I value greatly — a fabulous author and an awesome blogger — told me they loved Darkness Rises!  Woohoo!  I'm always so nervous, waiting for those initial reviews to begin to trickle in as a book's release approaches.  I doubt that will ever change.  :-)

In case you missed it, I launched a contest here on my blog yesterday!  I'm giving away a signed ARC of Darkness Rises + Immortal Guardians swag.  Details can be found HERE.

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  If you're considering catching up on my Immortal Guardians series before Darkness Rises is released on October 1st, I thought I'd give you a little taste of Bastien from Phantom Shadows to whet your appetite.  This micro-excerpt is told from Melanie's (the heroine's) POV:  

The tension in her Chevy as they left the network was about a twenty-one on a scale of one to ten.  Bastien sat beside Melanie in the passenger seat, large and powerful even when not in motion.  Two soldiers sat in the backseat, automatic weapons in hand.

“I’m going to have to ask you to take your fingers off the triggers, gentlemen,” Bastien said after several long minutes, his gaze on the darkened scenery that zipped past outside his window.  “There are a lot of bumps in North Carolina’s roads that could precipitate an accidental discharge.”

In the rearview mirror, Lanie saw the men exchange smug glances.

“If it happens, it happens,” one drawled.

Bastien continued to stare out the window.  “If you should accidentally shoot me, I’ll merely break your arms and all of your fingers to prevent such stupidity from happening a second time,” he said blandly.  “But if you accidentally shoot Dr. Lipton, I’ll rip your throats out so swiftly you’ll bleed to death before the men in the vehicles behind us even realize something has gone wrong.  Just something for you to consider.”

Again the men exchanged a look, this one neither smug nor confident.  Both shifted, removing their fingers from the triggers she assumed.

“A wise decision,” Bastien commented.

Ahh, Bastien.  So much fun to write.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #92

Happy Friday!  I hope you're staying cool in the summer heat.  I've been drinking in the AC while I work on Darkness Rises promotion.  Only a little more than two months until its release!  Woohoo!

I also started sending out ARCs to reviewers and sent a big box of the new swag to my street team managers.  Yay!  

And, of course, I've been working on Immortal Guardians Book 5.  I had to do some research for the scene I wrote last night.  I can't tell you the subject, though, because it's a spoiler.  I love that so much information is at writers' fingertips via the internet.  It really makes research easier.  And comes in handy when I'm not sure if certain slang or swear words are supposed to be hyphenated.  I've looked up some of the oddest things while writing.  :-)

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  Last week I posted a mini-excerpt from Darkness Dawns, the first book in my Immortal Guaradians series.  So this week I thought I would post a mini-excerpt from  Phantom Shadows, Book 3.  This excerpt, too, will feature Sebastien Newcombe, villain of Book 1 and hero of Book 3\.  What can I say?  I can't stop thinking about him  :-)  So, here is today's selection, a narrative quote told from Bastien's POV:

[Linda] strode toward Bastien.  “Here.  This should help.”  She held out a couple of large hand towels, both damp.

He took them, wondering why she was smiling at him.  “Thank you.”  

Lisette snatched one of the towels from him, gripped his chin in one deadly feminine hand, and began to wipe his face clean.  And she wasn’t rough.

Sarah took the other towel and tossed it over his head.  Rising onto her toes, she rubbed it over his hair, luring some of the blood and dust and other debris onto the towel and out of his thick locks.

Bastien stood there, feet rooted to the floor.  

Yeah, this was really strange.  

Everyone in this room scorned him.  And yet they were doing their damnedest to make him presentable for Melanie.  He knew it was for her, not him, but . . .

Was this what it felt like?

Sarah turned to Roland.  “Sweetie, do you have a comb?”

Was this what it felt like to be one of them?  To have friends who always had your back and were always there to help you with anything you needed?  To be part of the immortal family in truth, not just in name?

Bastien may always buck the system (as much as the system — a.k.a. Seth — will allow him to, that is), but I suspect he may collect a few friends along the way.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne

Favorite Quote Friday #91

Hi, all!  Can you believe it's already Friday again?  Wow, this week passed quickly!  I hope you had a good one.  :-)  I'm very excited about the progress I'm making on Book 5.  Lots of intensity in this one.  ;-)  And I'm even more excited that I'm one week closer to the upcoming release of Darkness Rises on October 1st!  I can't wait!

Guess what finally arrived:  My Immortal Guardians swag!  Woohoo!  I'm about to get a big box together to send to my Street Team managers.  Here's what the trading cards and new bookmarks look like:

These bookmarks are bigger than the last batch.  :-)  These are 2" x 8".  Here's a comparison:

It's time once more for Favorite Quote Friday!  I'm having so much fun writing Book 5.  Bastien plays a rather interesting role in it and has become one of my favorite characters.  If you aren't familiar with my Immortal Guardians series, Bastien leapt onto the pages as the villain in Darkness Dawns, Book 1, then later became the hero of Phantom Shadows, Book 3.  :-)  Since he has been on my mind so often of late, I thought I would give you an excerpt of Darkness Dawns.  This is taken from a scene in which the heroine, Sarah, encounters Bastien for the first time:

Trees whipped by, dark unfocused giants.  Fireflies blinked and sparkled as she passed.  The only sounds that met her ears were the humming of the engine, those weird North Carolina bugs, and her rasping, gasping breaths.

In the rearview mirror, her tiny house, its porch light, and the macabre battle taking place in front of it shrank, then disappeared from view as the road curved, rose and dipped.

Sarah’s whole body was trembling.  Her thoughts were scattered.  Her actions driven solely by the need to get away.  Fast.  Too fast to navigate the bends and curves of the road safely, but she couldn’t bring herself to slow down.  She turned on the high beams, hoping it would compensate for the lack of streetlights and let her see any deer that may have ambled onto the road in time to avoid hitting them.  

Vampires, she thought hysterically.  

Vampires were real.

And Roland was one of them.

The hood of the car abruptly buckled when a man seemingly dropped out of the sky and landed on it in a crouch.

Sarah screamed as the front of the car nosedived into the pavement.  The air bag exploded into her face, slamming her head back into the head rest.  The rear end of the car kept moving forward, tires squealing as the car spun around and came to a jarring halt facing the trees on the side of the road.  

Not wearing a seat belt, Sarah was hurled like a rag doll into the driver’s side door.  Glass shattered, showered her, cut her as pain shot through her head and the left side of her face and body.

The engine sputtered, then faltered into silence.

Dazed, she grabbed the armrest to lever herself upright.  Shards of glass sliced into her forearm and through the gauze bandages on her palm.  Wincing, she yanked her hand back and sluggishly straightened in her seat.

The air bag wilted as it deflated, allowing her to peer blearily through the front windshield.

The dark figure crouched on the hood slowly rose to his full height.

 Ah, Bastien.  Such an entertaining character to write, both as a villain and as a hero.  :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dianne