Mortal Bite

The Golden Vampires of Tuscany #2

Published: February 10, 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Print Length: 257 Pages

Formats: Print, Ebook, Audio

Book Summary

Golden Vampire Paolo Monteleone begins raising a son he did not know he fathered, after the murder of the boy's mother. He meets a beautiful human college professor, Carabella Sampson, at a Halloween costume ball. She is an expert on vampire lore, but doesn’t quite believe in their existence. Paolo dresses up as himself: a vampire.

A dark coven leader has targeted her for elimination, before she can reveal secrets of the Golden Vampire lineage she's obtained from an ancient book. Can there be a happily ever after if either his lover or his young son has to pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect the Golden Vampire race? And how in the world will Paolo be able to choose which one to save?

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Excerpt

“Your food, Carabella,” Paolo said as he leaned very close and whispered in her ear. The feel of his warm breath on the side of her face brought her gently out of her trance. One hand rested on her shoulder, and the other offered a plate of crisp romaine covered in slices of chicken breast and grated Romano cheese.He sat across from her and raised his wineglass. She raised her iced tea and sipped, dropping her eyes. But he did not.“You aren’t eating?” she said.“My schedule’s been hectic. I ate something earlier. Sorry.”

She shrugged her shoulders and breathed in deeply to gather herself. She picked up her fork and began to dig into the salad. He was leaning back, tipping the wooden chair, and smiling right at her.

“Have we met before?” she asked between bites.

Whatever are you doing? Where did that come from?

“No. I think I would have remembered.” After a brief pause, he added, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just the way you…I don’t know. You act like you know me. Like there’s some joke I’m not privy to.”

His face dropped the smile and he adopted a serious tone. “I’m not joking with you. And I’m sorry if I make you feel…uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s just me. I spook easily.”

“No doubt due to the dark creatures you study all the time.”

Cara had to agree he was right. “My friends say I find conspiracies behind every corner, mysteries everywhere. Drives them crazy sometimes.”

“But it’s what you love.”

It was a strange thing to say, but again he was right.

He leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table, and continued. “Studying mythology and symbolism makes you seek out and notice the unexpected, and things that can’t be explained easily.”

“Like vampires.”

“Exactly.”

“But you don’t believe they exist.”

“God, no.” Her hunger evaporated. “I’m going to take this home and have it for dinner.” She got up and requested a take-home box. After the server left she transferred most of her salad to the cardboard carton. “I’m more thirsty than hungry right now for some reason.”

He nodded.

Cara drank some of her iced tea and crunched on the ice chips. Placing the box and her plate to the side, she leaned onto the table and asked him, “So, what did you think of the ball?”

“It was wonderful. The first one I’ve been to in many years. I’ve missed them. The costumes were…over the top.”

Cara laughed, thinking about some of the outfits. “I’d say you have a fondness for little green faeries.”

“I admit to it,” he said with his hand to his heart. He leaned toward her. “But my fondness for angels is unequaled.”

Cara could feel the blush coming on, and suspected the top of her chest was covered with blotchy red marks. The centers of his eyes took on an iridescent coppery glow, as if small bonfires resided there. He dropped his eyes to her heaving chest and she allowed herself to be admired. When their eyes connected again, something was understood between them.

What is this?

“I’d like to hear about your studies, Cara. May I call you Cara?”

“Please. Well, I became interested in the myth of the vampire because of the symbolism. They represent the ultimate alpha male figure. Strong. All-powerful. Dominant and controlling. Immortal. The ultimate bad boy you wouldn’t want to bring home to meet your mother.”

“Interesting. Go on.”

“Women read romance novels today because they are looking for the hero in their fantasy life they would never find in real life.”

“And you think that’s wrong?”

“Of course not. I read romance novels all the time, especially paranormal romance, with vampire heroes.”

“For pleasure?”

“Yes.”

“And so you began studying them?”

“Well, no. I am new to reading romance. Probably a good thing, too, or I would have never made it through college. Hard to tear me away from my favorites.”

“You like your alpha males.”

“Love them.”

“And do you have alpha males in your real life?”

It was a very personal question and it brought her up short. She grabbed for her iced tea, swallowed heavily and averted her eyes. With her forefinger, she traced the beads of vapor on the outside of her glass of tea. He was very still, awaiting an answer.

“I think the answer to that would be no,” she said to the top of her glass.

He squirmed in his chair, recrossing his long legs, tilting slightly back again. “Tell me more.”

“About my studies or about alpha males?”

“Whatever you want to tell me. Tell me something I wouldn’t think to ask you.”

Another strange question. His proximity made it so she couldn’t respond to the alarm bell sounding somewhere. It was like her body wanted to, but couldn’t for some reason.

“I’ve recently discovered some books by a 19th century Scottish theologian and scholar. He claims to have located the first written recordings of vampire myth. He found evidence of stories of raising the dead, giving life. Sort of like what we read about in novels about a turning.”

“Vampires turning humans. Into vampires.”

“Yes. Only this clergyman claims there was a group of people who worshiped and studied these myths shortly after the time of Christ. He wrote that there were people who practiced these black arts, but also practiced what he calls the Divine Coupling. Like there’s some blood mating ritual.”

The smile had erased from Paolo’s face. Cara knew she’d lost him again.

“I’m sorry. You asked me to tell you something I wouldn’t have normally, and I can see this was a mistake.”

He was watching her fingers move up and down her iced tea tumbler. “Couldn’t these texts be explained away as just a healthy curiosity in sex? It has been something men and women have worshiped and studied for centuries,” he finished.

“No. Well, maybe for others, but that’s not why I’m interested in it. If it’s true, he may have stumbled on the secret to immortality.  I don’t think it was about the sex. It was about living forever, and dealing with living forever. What does one do when one lives forever?”

“He drinks port?”

She smiled, glad he wasn’t taking her seriously. It didn’t hurt her feelings in the slightest. “I keep wondering what sex would be like after having a thousand years of it. Maybe the temples were built, the religion of the divine coupling was created, to fill the needs of a bored society. Maybe some of them didn’t want to live forever, and that was a problem for them.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I think they lost their immortality. On purpose. Chose to be mortal. That’s why they and most of the evidence of their civilization disappeared.”

 

Radio Interviews with Arial Burnz

Sharon Hamilton and JD Hart Speak with Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-jd-hart-giveaways/

Sharon Hamilton Speaks With Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-viola-rivard-giveaways/

Heavenly Lover

Guardian Angel #1

Published December 2013

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Book Length: 279 Pages

Format: Ebook, Print

Book Summary: 

Claire, an unconventional Guardian angel sent to save a sexy Brazilian-born painter from killing himself, discovers Daniel has been preyed upon by a powerful dark angel posing as his best friend and agent. Although successful in saving Daniel’s life, Claire is in danger of losing her own when attraction to her handsome charge blooms into a forbidden love.

The dark angel offers her what she’s only dared to dream about—an eternity with Daniel. Will she sacrifice her soul, or sacrifice a lifetime with a man she knows she was created to love?

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Book Excerpt

Daniel nodded and closed the door. He turned off the lights but left the mess in the living room. He stared at the scene one last time, then shook his head as he climbed the stairs. Claire followed several steps behind, yellow bag over her shoulder. Daniel sighed heavily. He unbuttoned his top while climbing and was bare-chested by the time he approached the last step.

She was startled by a noise downstairs and turned around to see Josh emerging through the front door without opening it. Claire froze. Josh looked first in the corner where she’d been hiding, then around the room, landing his gaze at the bottom of the stairs, ensuring Daniel was out of sight. Josh bowed to the room, looking around afterwards. It was obvious he could not see her.

“Round One goes to the challenger.” He delivered the statement with a smile and disappeared back through the door the way he had come. The thin trail of grey smoke left in his wake smelled faintly of cloves.

Her heart pounded. Everything else was eerily silent.

She focused on the temporary save, pushing away any lingering fear. I told Mother he wouldn’t die tonight.

Anticipation coiled in her stomach and tingled down her spine. She was alone with him now. Time to start her job.

Daniel changed into navy silk pajama bottoms he wore low on his hips, but remained shirtless. He got into bed.

Claire loved the smell of a man’s bedroom when he lived alone—soap, cologne—the personal stuff of a man’s life. This is just the best job in the whole universe.

He lay on his back at first, right arm bent over his head. His long fingers were curled in the palm of his outstretched hand as if he were holding something delicate. A raised blue vein extended from mid forearm all the way to his elbow, snaking across the muscles underneath. He closed his eyes and drifted off to light sleep.

Claire likened these first dream encounters to how an inexperienced young human bride would feel on her wedding night. It was private, this intimate look inside a man’s thoughts to see the secrets of his soul. She never got over the miracle of being inside a dream, exploring the parts of his life. “Rest well, Daniel. I’m here now to help you,” she whispered. “Show yourself to me.”

Startled, she saw a smile on his lips. It soon faded.

He was a delicate balance of beauty and strength, she thought. The moonlight made the well-developed muscles of his shoulders and forearms look like marble. He took good care of his body. She lay down to watch him from the side in the quiet of the night.

No one would ever know about the chaos that occurred this evening, or how close he came to spending eternity in the underworld, his soul lost forever. It made her cold to think of the many files on Mother’s desk. Daniel’s file could have been one of them.

He must be saved. He touches me with magic.

The moon had a crazy effect on humans. It was good they were asleep during its reign. Perhaps it was for protection. Like most Guardians, she preferred the purity and warmth of the sun.

Why not level with these people, tell them Father didn’t run things alone? He was the creator and organizer, but angels were the technicians.

Guardians fix things that are broken.

So the job before her was to inspire Daniel. Her specialty was landscapes screaming with color. She’d done some large purple buildings, turquoise sand and pink snow that looked liked cotton candy. What a delight that he was a painter.

She gently stroked the length of his injured arm, tracing the shallow cuts that crossed a deep blue vein down into the palm of his hand, which suddenly squeezed shut as if to capture her fingers.

Claire sat up at full attention, noticing Daniel stirring. She checked her invisibility. He became fully awake, staring at the ceiling. She cocked her head to the side and watched his sparkling eyes in the moonlight, waiting.

***

Daniel still felt sick to his stomach. How close he’d come to killing himself, to ending the pain. How stupid he’d been. Yeah, Audray had done a number on him, and his career had crashed, but had that been reason enough to give up on life? He mentally thanked the messed-up alarm system, Josh, and the cops who’d stopped him from self-destructing completely.

Yeah, his life was still messed up, but he’d been given a second chance to fix things. He could let that chance go and finish the job he'd started, or he could continue wallowing in self-pity. Or he could pull himself up by the bootstraps and figure out how to get himself out of this nasty mess. Easier said than done. But maybe the only choice. He thought about how far he'd fallen and how fast the ride had been.

He couldn’t get the picture out of his head: Audray being pumped and pleasured on his green couch by some guy with a really hairy ass. After he’d caught them, he’d been left alone with the painting she loved to look at while being f***ed silly. His painting. Her favorite. He’d had to kill that painting.

As his eyes got heavy, he felt his life unravel before him. It all began the day he met her. He used to call it his lucky day. But now he saw there had always been an edge to her. Something otherworldly. Something dangerous. She was different than all the other women he’d ever loved. He was addicted to her presence. His cock was in a continual state of arousal, harder and fatter than it ever had been. That woman pulled him into doing things way outside his comfort zone. Not that he was afraid of life and its sensual side, but Audray demanded he push past his limits. She was always more than he could afford, emotionally, causing some element of pain along with the pleasure. He was powerless to do anything about it until it was too late. She had him in her claws with every ministration, every sensual pleasure she extracted from him.

Daniel allowed the sleep to overtake him and closed his eyes.

Radio Interviews with Arial Burnz

Sharon Hamilton and JD Hart Speak with Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-jd-hart-giveaways/

Sharon Hamilton Speaks With Arial Burnz

http://ilovevampirenovels.com/podcast/sharon-hamilton-viola-rivard-giveaways/

Seal Under Covers

Book 3 in the SEAL Brotherhood Series

Published August 18, 2013

Book Summary

Navy SEAL Armando Guzman has just returned from a difficult tour in Afghanistan only to find his sister still making choices that land her in the company of a San Diego drug gang. Vowing he will save her from the bad environment she has placed herself in, he is blindsided by his sister’s hotter-than-hot best friend, Gina. 

Gina Mancuso is working her first under cover detail, trying to prove herself on a male-dominated police force, even if it means she has to work side by side with the SDPD officer with whom she had a brief, abusive relationship. She is not prepared for the chemical attraction that slams her against the hard body of her subject’s Navy SEAL brother, Armando. Their hot affair not only threatens to ruin her mission, but could engulf Armando in a career-ending dispute with local law enforcement. 

Armando is unwilling to walk away from his sister, especially as tensions rise between he and Gina’s ex-lover. Gina is in a race for time to keep her secret identity from the man she is now sure she loves with all her heart. But will she have to sacrifice their relationship in order to accomplish the mission she was sent to do?

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Video

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Excerpt

That left Armando holding the door open to the old beater truck. Damn, but the guy was cool. The happenings in the strip joint hadn’t seemed to ruffle him one bit. He’d have been just as comfortable getting black, blue, and bloody. Gina wondered where he would draw the line.

Do I know where to draw the line? Well, his was personal. Hers was her job. But it was definitely fucked that her ex-boyfriend had to land himself in the middle of her professional world, too.

But that’s what kind of a choice you made, Gina. Always making the wrong choices when it came to men. In a way, very much like Mia.

She watched Armando standing there, waiting for her. The other car was waiting for her as well.

Never waste an opportunity to make another bad decision. Her roommate in college used to say that every day, while at the same time managing to bed most the football team and as many of the soccer players she could get. Gina always waited up for her, just in case she needed a ride, or got too drunk. Just like she was now trying to do for Mia. It was the reason she became a cop. Another bad decision? Well, it certainly was something that had been locked and loaded way down inside her soul after she got the call from the police that fateful night. That night when her roommate became someone’s victim and Gina had sat waiting for a call that would never come.

She wondered what would ruffle this man of steel, amazed that he could make choices so quickly as he had just now. Was he ever afraid in his job like she was in hers?

What threshold am I walking through tonight?

She leaned over to look around the SEAL, checking on Mia in the passenger seat of her own car. Of course she would be safe with the little warrior, a guy who would probably die trying to protect her, from what Mia had said. But this one standing in front of her, balancing on one hip, leaning against the door, his muscular arms worthy of any Popeye character, was dangerous.

To her heart.

“Do I have a choice?” she said to him, watching that smirky little smile and sexy eyes making fun of her while her heart did flip-flops. She’d been close to peeing on herself while she sat and watched her ex-boyfriend nearly call out the brother—the SEAL brother of the woman they were working. It had been wrong on so many levels, even the Pope couldn’t dish out enough forgiveness.

“Get in.” It was a command that made her tense, but the smile he flashed afterwards made her panties wet. Suddenly her ankles wobbled and she nearly fell, which would have been totally uncool. And damn, but if he didn’t reach out and put a strong, muscled arm around to steady her. He let her go after he gave her one hurried squeeze, just tight enough for her to learn he was aroused.

Another footnote to a perfectly fucked evening. Her mission was nearly blown. Why did she feel guilty for that? They were supposed to be hanging out with the gang by the stage. Well, she couldn’t help it if Sam and the rest of the crew had decided to pull a game change on her. As she slid onto the torn leather seat of the old truck, she smiled at the recollection. It had been damned satisfying, slapping Sam and tossing the drink into his face. She’d stared right back at him when he showed his anger. And she didn’t flinch or cower this time. She was filled with pride. She’d stood up to him, finally!

But now what? On any other evening, getting into a truck with a SEAL would be a no-brainer. Nothing wrong with a night of sex with a hot guy, if that was where he was headed. She wasn’t completely sure, but she wasn’t that rusty that she couldn’t recognize a good, clean come-on. The fact that he was the brother of their party of interest and it was totally forbidden only heightened her anticipation. But decisions like that were never good ones. She had to put a stop to this somehow.

Writers Helping Writers-Jennifer Lowery

I've been a little busy, and so thought I'd give you some little sweet tidbits over the next few days. Those of you who know me know that I like to help out fellow writers. I've been helped by great writers and it's always a good idea to turn around and do the same for others.

Jennifer has been a friend of mine now for I think going on 3 years. We're finally doing an anthology together called SEALs of Summer.

Jennifer has a new cover for a book that is racking up the charts. Hope you'll give her a listen and and buy what sounds like a great book. So, I introduce you to Jennifer Lowery.

Murphy’s Law touched a deep part of me. For many reasons. Mostly, because the heroine, Sara, had to face one of my biggest fears. Overcoming this fear was hard for her and Murphy was there to help her through it, but not without being forced to face his own demons. It was quite a journey for the two of them. For all of us. I didn’t come out of it unaffected. I think writers face their own fears and hurts and needs when they write, even if they don’t realize it. Writing is therapeutic. And I love it even when I’m putting my characters through the ringer. I once read that you should put your characters in a tree and throw rocks at them. It’s a play off a formulation for a movie script, I believe. And excellent advice to add conflict and tension to your writing.

Well, Murphy and Sara certainly had a lot of rocks thrown at them, but they weren’t physical rocks. Many of them were emotional. And for an Army Ranger, those emotions were better pushed down deep. Not that Sara would let Murphy push her away J

I hope you enjoy Murphy and Sara’s journey as much as I did writing it because this is the story of my heart and I am so happy to be sharing it with you.

Murphy’s Law/Romantic Suspense  

Tagline: He lost his family. She gave them back to him.

Blurb:

Home is the last place Jon Murphy can go. After being held captive in Azbakastan, he returns to the States only to find he can’t face his mom and sisters with what he did while he was a prisoner, so he retreats to the mountains.

Widow Sara Sheldon has made a lifetime of mistakes and is now running scared from her husband’s powerful family, who are determined to take her daughter away from her. When her little girl goes missing in the Rockies, Sara enlists the only help she can find: a gruff recluse with tracking skills to admire and a body to covet.

A storm strands Sara and her daughter at Murphy’s cabin, leaving her no choice but to hope her in-laws don’t catch up while she plans where to run next. Murphy resents the invasion of his privacy, but can’t seem to keep his mind--or his hands--off Sara. How can she stand to look at him, with all his scars? He’s not nearly as honorable as she might think…only enough to make sure she’s safe, and then he’ll go back to being alone, the way he should be.

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual content                         

Murphy’s Law: Previously published by Lyrical Press in 2013

**Murphy’s Law was a 2006 Golden Heart Finalist**

Excerpt:

Copyright © 2014, Jennifer Lowery

Murphy sat at the kitchen table, half in the shadows created by the soft light glowing above the stove, hair tousled from sleep. Naked to the waist. A bottle of amber liquid sat in front of him, an empty glass in his hand. Her gaze landed on his muscled shoulders and trailed across his tanned chest. So much for getting him out of her mind. Now she had the real thing to dream about. Looking at the dark hairs that veed down his chest and disappeared behind the table, she decided he’d been right. He was a dangerous man.

She tore her gaze away from temptation and looked at the granite lines of his face. Beneath the hardness of his expression, something haunting lingered. Drawn, she circled the table to the opposite end.

Murphy met her eyes with coldness that should have sent her running for the safety of her room, but she remained standing in place. He wanted to chase her away. This time she wasn’t running.

“Mind if I join you?” She grabbed a glass and from the cupboard and reached over his shoulder for the bottle.

His hand snaked out and wrapped around hers, preventing her from pouring a drink.

“I mind,” he growled.

“Well, get over it. I need a drink.”

Scowling, he let go of her hand and allowed her to pour a glass for herself. She refilled his glass next, set the bottle on the table, moved to the chair beside him and sat, lifting her glass.

“Cheers.” She brought the glass to her lips. His gaze as she drained the glass made her fight the urge to cough as the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat. Seconds later she felt the familiar warming sensation as it numbed her insides. Her eyes filled with tears. She blinked them away and reached for the bottle.

Murphy held it away from her. “What are you doing?”

“Having a drink. I’m not in the mood for warm milk tonight.”

His eyes darkened and narrowed. “You don’t strike me as the drinking type.”

She wasn’t, but tonight it sounded good. Maybe it would soothe away her problems and make her forget how screwed-up her life was. Talking about Kent earlier had brought back painful memories. She didn’t want to feel that misery anymore.

“Maybe you don’t know my type,” she said.

He studied her closely for a moment before rubbing a hand over his face. “Go back to bed, Sara. Sleep it off.”

“I don’t want to sleep it off. I’m tired of thinking about it.”

Maybe it was the whisky, or his naked chest, or the part of her that had been dormant for six years coming back to life. More than anything she wanted to discover it with Murphy, her strong, scarred hero.

She rose to her feet. He watched warily as she stepped in front of him and positioned herself between him and the table. He leaned back in his chair and sent her a thunderous look.

“You and I are alike in many ways, Murphy,” she said softly. “We’ve both lost pieces of ourselves we can’t ever get back and it has forced us into a life of loneliness and solitude. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being alone.”

He pinned her with a hard glare. “I’m not what you want. Go back to your room before I do something we’ll both regret in the morning.”

His harshly spoken words sent little electrical shocks through her body.

“I’m tired of people telling me what I want.”

Author Bio:

Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer.  Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side. 

Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn’t be happier to share her passion with her readers.  She loves everything there is about romance.  Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines.  She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.  

 Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children.  When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family. 

This is what people are saying about Murphy’s Law:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Cindy Gerard, Tara Janzen, or Cherry Adair series. Each of these writers have the same flavor with a secret ingredient in their stories as does Jennifer Lowery. Great story!
- hmhibbit, Open Book Society on Murphy's Law

Find Jennifer:

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Re-Released for the low price of $3.99!!!
THANKS, Jennifer. I enjoyed telling my fans about you and your wonderful books. 

Sharon