I had a reader email me a question about My Werewolf Lover, but I can't seem to get the response to go through to her, so I'll answer here and hope she sees it.
"Hey Brenda I was interested in your book My Werewolf Lover and I was wondering how do you feel about Stephanie Meyer's book Twilight and all? The whole vampire and werewolf thing is hot now. Your book is going to attract a lot of werewolf lovers. lol"
My response:
I haven't read the book, but I did see the movie, and it was high school kids, so I doubt I'll pick up the book since I write erotica. I do think with movies and bestselling books on vamps and werewolves, readers get excited to read more. That's a great thing. I would love to be inspired to write another like My Werewolf Lover. I think it is my most sexy work, extreme alpha male, which I love. I am going to do another when I can get my other projects out of the way, something longer. Thanks for writing.
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You can pick up My Werewolf Lover at Amira Press, www.amirapress.com.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
2nd Excerpt for Midnight Shift
This is a short excerpt from my novella, Midnight Shift, included in the Mating Season anthology coming from Amira Press on May 8th.
Chase found the way to an exit with no one inside or outside. Again, he broke the lock, and soon they were sprinting along the street. He had to slow down a few times when he almost left her behind and once for her to slip into her shoes. At a corner with traffic whizzing by and pedestrians strolling along giving them odd looks, they stopped.
Lori stooped beside him. “Why don’t you change back? You’re more conspicuous this way.”
He bumped her so that she landed on her ass, legs slightly apart. He licked his lips. “I could if you don’t mind me naked. But then that would be just as conspicuous, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh.” She swallowed. “Oh, yeah.”
He didn’t miss how her eyes glazed over for a second. If he didn’t miss his guess, this beautiful woman was imagining him naked. He grew tight reciprocating the thought.
A few more blocks down side streets led them to the small house Chase recognized as Lori’s. She shuffled up the steps and unlocked the door with him following. Strolling down a short hall inside, he watched her ass and her hips sway.
Why had she come? She had to know he would be lecturing. They hadn’t parted on good terms. He had been insulting to her, let her know she wasn’t worthy to be his lover, and yet, there was the undeniable attraction. At this time, any woman would be attractive to him, but Lori went beyond that. He almost felt a need to be with her.
In the days he hadn’t seen her, he had learned that a female tiger shifter had moved to a town twenty-five miles from their city. It would not have been a big deal for him to run over there and set it up with her for them to be lovers. No doubt she had been hunting for another tiger, but had waited for him to approach. He hadn’t gone. Although it tormented him not to act on his sexual desires, he had resisted.
“For you?” he muttered behind Lori.
She glanced over her shoulder as she entered the living room. “Hm?”
Moonlight shimmered in through the open curtains at the window. The light reflected in her blue eyes. She could almost be one of them, he thought and shook his head. No, she was fully human. That was an unmistakable scent if ever he had picked up on one.
He padded across the carpet to stand in front of her. With his nose, he bumped her pussy. Her aroma was heady and made him drunk with desire. He whined and stuck his tongue out to lap at the material separating him from what he craved.
She tapped his nose. “I don’t fuck animals.”
At first, he sat on his haunches, and then, he stood and transformed. Like before, he couldn’t pull in his claws or his ears. He was, however, relieved to find he wasn’t furry like he had been the day he was forced to wear the robe instead of regular clothes. It had irked him when she made fun of him for it.
“How about like this?” he demanded, confident that, despite the tiger’s skin, his physique would appeal to her. “I can please you.”
Her eyes were glued to his erect cock. She ran the tip of her tongue over her lips and whined a little herself. “I think at this point, neither of us has any choice. No one has to know?”
He nodded. “No one.”
Pick it up on May 8th at www.amirapress.com
Coming May 8, 2009!
My story Midnight Shift is coming in the Mating Season anthology from Amira Press. Check out my blurb below.
Midnight Shift - Brenda SteeleLori lives in an alternate world of humans and shifters. The two barely get along, and recent laws made to track the shifters' movements have not helped relations at all. Lori, a human, with no ambition other than to work at a bookstore that serves nocturnal shifters meets arrogant tiger shifter, Chase who is a college professor. Under normal circumstances, Chase would not look twice at a human, but the fact that he is days from entering his mating season is playing havoc with his senses. Now, not only can't he hide his claws and his furry ears in public, he cannot stop hunting Lori. Despite political unrest in their city, Chase will make Lori his lover.
Here's an excerpt:
Get it on May 8th at www.amirapress.com
You'll love it.
-Brenda Steele
www.brendasteele.webs.com
Midnight Shift - Brenda SteeleLori lives in an alternate world of humans and shifters. The two barely get along, and recent laws made to track the shifters' movements have not helped relations at all. Lori, a human, with no ambition other than to work at a bookstore that serves nocturnal shifters meets arrogant tiger shifter, Chase who is a college professor. Under normal circumstances, Chase would not look twice at a human, but the fact that he is days from entering his mating season is playing havoc with his senses. Now, not only can't he hide his claws and his furry ears in public, he cannot stop hunting Lori. Despite political unrest in their city, Chase will make Lori his lover.
Here's an excerpt:
Chapter One
Lori painted on the final layer of her volcano red polish to her toes while clutching the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She rested a heel on the stool she sat on and blew gently.
“Lori, are you doing your toes again?” her friend, Cammie, shouted into the phone. “Damn, you do them every freakin’ day of the week.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Cam. I do not.” Lori had to laugh. “Okay, three or four times tops, but that’s it. You know I can’t stand chipped polish, and one was smudged a little. I had no choice.”
“It’s a fetish is what it is,” Cammie told her. “Admit it. You’re into feet. I don’t see you doing your fingernails like that.”
Lori glanced at her fingers with little interest. “I don’t use color on them.”
A bell dinged at the other end of the building. She glanced up but knew she wouldn’t be able to see through the bookstore, where she worked, over to the connecting Easy Mart. At three in the morning, some idiot was shopping. Noting the time had reminded her that it was late and that she should be in bed. But she had taken this part-time job. She was in it for the long haul.
“I better go, Cam. Someone came in the Easy Mart. It’s likely they won’t find anything edible over there, and they’ll come over this side to browse.” She yawned. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep for a change.”
Her friend blew out a noisy breath. “I doubt it, but I’ll lie here as usual. Talk to you tomorrow. Night.”
Lori hung up the phone just as the customer moved to the doorway separating the Easy Mart from the bookstore. Despite herself, she gasped. Of course, she had expected it to be one of the shifters. Besides, who else was stupid enough to be up at this time of night browsing through Mr. Tenchow’s food items? All of it was unappetizing if you asked her.
But this man, or rather shape-shifter, was striking. She hadn’t seen him before. He was tall and thickly built, solid muscle if she were to guess. He had long sandy brown hair that hung heavy on his shoulders and honey-colored eyes that made her heart kick up a notch or two. His jeans hung just right on narrow hips, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat to show the slightest peek at a chest a woman could lose her sanity lying on.
However, despite the male perfection, what put Lori’s back up was the fact that this was no human and that he was proud to show it. Most of the shape-shifters stayed in humanlike form when among humans. This man’s short, furry ears twitched amid his hair on the top of his head, and his claws were extended past his fingertips.
He frowned when he spotted Lori, disapproval clear even in the stiff way he walked when he crossed the space between them. “Isn’t that unsanitary?”
Her back couldn’t get up any higher. “Excuse me?”
He nodded toward her foot, still tucked on the edge of her stool. “This is a grocery store.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get carried away. Tenchow’s Easy Mart is no grocery store. There’s nothing fresh in there. Besides, the mart is on that side. This is the bookstore, and I put my shoes on should I have to cross to that side, which is rare.”
He grunted.
“And you’re one to talk. You’re barefooted.”
He glanced toward the bookstore entrance. “I did not see a ‘No Shoes, No Service’ sign.”
Lori dropped her foot, stood, and recapped her polish. “Well, this isn’t my store, is it? I’m not Tenchow. Now, what can I do for you?”
Instead of speaking, he let his gaze pass down over her body and took in her slender figure from head to toe. He was tall enough that he could surely see her newly polished toes over the counter. Lori fidgeted when his gaze rose again. She hated that she was wondering what he thought of her, if he found her attractive.
Her body wasn’t much to speak of. She had been a little on the thin side all her life, made worse by the fact that she was just under six feet—not a positive when she had stretched high above all the boys while coming up in school. At least she had a decent breast size, a C cup, and she had a little bit of an ass.
She slapped her hands on her hips and dropped her weight to one leg. “Are you finished? I could turn around if you like?”
“Human.” He said it with distaste.
“Shifter,” she countered. “One with no respect for others.”
His sandy brow rose, but he said nothing. From the look of him, he was the kind of shifter who believed he was superior to humans and hated having any dealings with them.
A tinkling laugh came from behind him, and a small woman—one of the most beautiful Lori had ever seen—stepped out from behind the arrogant man. She hooked an arm through his and pursed her lips. “Don’t mind Chase. He’s all grumpy because his mating season is coming soon. Right about the time of the spring equinox.”
Chase growled low in his throat. “Do not tell my business, Nichelle.”
Nichelle laughed and stuck out her tongue at him. She was too adorable. Lori wished they would leave now. Seeing as she was practically glued to his arm, the woman was obviously his mate. But what the hell did Lori care? She’d never looked twice at a male shifter.
“It’s a little late for mating season for you, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be coming to a close?”
His honey eyes narrowed. She’d apparently offended him again.
“You are thinking of the Bengal tiger. I do not follow that animal’s patterns.”
As if he wasn’t an animal. She shrugged. “Sorry. So . . . you wanted?”
“I was looking for something to read.” He unhooked himself from Nichelle with difficulty. Lori bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. He was either too stiff to show affection in public or Nichelle was not his lover. Lori told herself his love life didn’t interest her either way.
She slipped her feet into her flip-flops and moved around the counter. “Okay, well this is Tenchow’s, mind you, so we don’t have a lot, but there are some funny comics over on that last row if you’re interested.” She glanced back at Gloomy. He didn’t respond. “And over in this aisle is where we keep the books on politics.”
“Anything new?”
“Nope.” She moved on. “Here are some romances.”
She stopped moving and speaking. He was right up on her, that low rumble in his throat sending shivers over her body. Beside her, he rested a hand on the shelf, and the heat of his breath warmed her neck. “Your scent,” he whispered.
Mating season. Damn. She should have realized. The man was hornier than usual right now, and she had assumed it would not be directed her way since she wasn’t his kind. He had a beautiful woman with him, after all. She had to be a shifter as well, because humans and shifters did not fraternize.
“Um.” Her voice came out in a croak, and she coughed to clear her throat. It didn’t do much good. “You might like the books in this aisle.” She searched for anything that might break him out of the lust that had seemed to take control of him. Looking back over her shoulder and tilting her chin upward, she realized he was taller than she had first thought. He was a good six or seven inches taller than she, and he was so near with his head tilted downward that their lips were too close to each other.
Lori grabbed a book, any book, and shoved it into his chest. That was a mistake. The barrier of hardened muscle made her feel like sagging into that chest and offering her lips to him. This was ridiculous. She did not under any circumstances date shifters. No human did, and she was not the type to be the first.
Still, the eyes locked her in place, not allowing her to escape. Is this what the Bengal tigers did to their prey? No, he said he was not like a regular tiger, but the stripes on his cheeks and the fur on his cat ears atop his head made him look like one. The eyes. Somebody save me.
Nichelle yanked on his arm. “Get a grip on yourself, Chase. Let’s go. You don’t want a human.”
The spell was broken. Lori breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried back around the counter. “So will that be it?” She hoped the tremor still in her voice was all in her imagination. The disapproval on Nichelle’s face said otherwise.
The two were squared away quickly, and the next time Lori looked at the clock, it was time to pack up and leave for the night. Her shift ended at four a.m., when the two shops closed. Mr. Tenchow might desire to cater to the nocturnal shifters in the community, but there were few repeat customers. Whatever. If her boss wanted to toss away his money on this enterprise, so be it.
At four on the dot, Lori had locked up and was strolling the few blocks to her house in the quiet, dimly lit streets of the city she had lived in all her life.
Lori painted on the final layer of her volcano red polish to her toes while clutching the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She rested a heel on the stool she sat on and blew gently.
“Lori, are you doing your toes again?” her friend, Cammie, shouted into the phone. “Damn, you do them every freakin’ day of the week.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Cam. I do not.” Lori had to laugh. “Okay, three or four times tops, but that’s it. You know I can’t stand chipped polish, and one was smudged a little. I had no choice.”
“It’s a fetish is what it is,” Cammie told her. “Admit it. You’re into feet. I don’t see you doing your fingernails like that.”
Lori glanced at her fingers with little interest. “I don’t use color on them.”
A bell dinged at the other end of the building. She glanced up but knew she wouldn’t be able to see through the bookstore, where she worked, over to the connecting Easy Mart. At three in the morning, some idiot was shopping. Noting the time had reminded her that it was late and that she should be in bed. But she had taken this part-time job. She was in it for the long haul.
“I better go, Cam. Someone came in the Easy Mart. It’s likely they won’t find anything edible over there, and they’ll come over this side to browse.” She yawned. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep for a change.”
Her friend blew out a noisy breath. “I doubt it, but I’ll lie here as usual. Talk to you tomorrow. Night.”
Lori hung up the phone just as the customer moved to the doorway separating the Easy Mart from the bookstore. Despite herself, she gasped. Of course, she had expected it to be one of the shifters. Besides, who else was stupid enough to be up at this time of night browsing through Mr. Tenchow’s food items? All of it was unappetizing if you asked her.
But this man, or rather shape-shifter, was striking. She hadn’t seen him before. He was tall and thickly built, solid muscle if she were to guess. He had long sandy brown hair that hung heavy on his shoulders and honey-colored eyes that made her heart kick up a notch or two. His jeans hung just right on narrow hips, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat to show the slightest peek at a chest a woman could lose her sanity lying on.
However, despite the male perfection, what put Lori’s back up was the fact that this was no human and that he was proud to show it. Most of the shape-shifters stayed in humanlike form when among humans. This man’s short, furry ears twitched amid his hair on the top of his head, and his claws were extended past his fingertips.
He frowned when he spotted Lori, disapproval clear even in the stiff way he walked when he crossed the space between them. “Isn’t that unsanitary?”
Her back couldn’t get up any higher. “Excuse me?”
He nodded toward her foot, still tucked on the edge of her stool. “This is a grocery store.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get carried away. Tenchow’s Easy Mart is no grocery store. There’s nothing fresh in there. Besides, the mart is on that side. This is the bookstore, and I put my shoes on should I have to cross to that side, which is rare.”
He grunted.
“And you’re one to talk. You’re barefooted.”
He glanced toward the bookstore entrance. “I did not see a ‘No Shoes, No Service’ sign.”
Lori dropped her foot, stood, and recapped her polish. “Well, this isn’t my store, is it? I’m not Tenchow. Now, what can I do for you?”
Instead of speaking, he let his gaze pass down over her body and took in her slender figure from head to toe. He was tall enough that he could surely see her newly polished toes over the counter. Lori fidgeted when his gaze rose again. She hated that she was wondering what he thought of her, if he found her attractive.
Her body wasn’t much to speak of. She had been a little on the thin side all her life, made worse by the fact that she was just under six feet—not a positive when she had stretched high above all the boys while coming up in school. At least she had a decent breast size, a C cup, and she had a little bit of an ass.
She slapped her hands on her hips and dropped her weight to one leg. “Are you finished? I could turn around if you like?”
“Human.” He said it with distaste.
“Shifter,” she countered. “One with no respect for others.”
His sandy brow rose, but he said nothing. From the look of him, he was the kind of shifter who believed he was superior to humans and hated having any dealings with them.
A tinkling laugh came from behind him, and a small woman—one of the most beautiful Lori had ever seen—stepped out from behind the arrogant man. She hooked an arm through his and pursed her lips. “Don’t mind Chase. He’s all grumpy because his mating season is coming soon. Right about the time of the spring equinox.”
Chase growled low in his throat. “Do not tell my business, Nichelle.”
Nichelle laughed and stuck out her tongue at him. She was too adorable. Lori wished they would leave now. Seeing as she was practically glued to his arm, the woman was obviously his mate. But what the hell did Lori care? She’d never looked twice at a male shifter.
“It’s a little late for mating season for you, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be coming to a close?”
His honey eyes narrowed. She’d apparently offended him again.
“You are thinking of the Bengal tiger. I do not follow that animal’s patterns.”
As if he wasn’t an animal. She shrugged. “Sorry. So . . . you wanted?”
“I was looking for something to read.” He unhooked himself from Nichelle with difficulty. Lori bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. He was either too stiff to show affection in public or Nichelle was not his lover. Lori told herself his love life didn’t interest her either way.
She slipped her feet into her flip-flops and moved around the counter. “Okay, well this is Tenchow’s, mind you, so we don’t have a lot, but there are some funny comics over on that last row if you’re interested.” She glanced back at Gloomy. He didn’t respond. “And over in this aisle is where we keep the books on politics.”
“Anything new?”
“Nope.” She moved on. “Here are some romances.”
She stopped moving and speaking. He was right up on her, that low rumble in his throat sending shivers over her body. Beside her, he rested a hand on the shelf, and the heat of his breath warmed her neck. “Your scent,” he whispered.
Mating season. Damn. She should have realized. The man was hornier than usual right now, and she had assumed it would not be directed her way since she wasn’t his kind. He had a beautiful woman with him, after all. She had to be a shifter as well, because humans and shifters did not fraternize.
“Um.” Her voice came out in a croak, and she coughed to clear her throat. It didn’t do much good. “You might like the books in this aisle.” She searched for anything that might break him out of the lust that had seemed to take control of him. Looking back over her shoulder and tilting her chin upward, she realized he was taller than she had first thought. He was a good six or seven inches taller than she, and he was so near with his head tilted downward that their lips were too close to each other.
Lori grabbed a book, any book, and shoved it into his chest. That was a mistake. The barrier of hardened muscle made her feel like sagging into that chest and offering her lips to him. This was ridiculous. She did not under any circumstances date shifters. No human did, and she was not the type to be the first.
Still, the eyes locked her in place, not allowing her to escape. Is this what the Bengal tigers did to their prey? No, he said he was not like a regular tiger, but the stripes on his cheeks and the fur on his cat ears atop his head made him look like one. The eyes. Somebody save me.
Nichelle yanked on his arm. “Get a grip on yourself, Chase. Let’s go. You don’t want a human.”
The spell was broken. Lori breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried back around the counter. “So will that be it?” She hoped the tremor still in her voice was all in her imagination. The disapproval on Nichelle’s face said otherwise.
The two were squared away quickly, and the next time Lori looked at the clock, it was time to pack up and leave for the night. Her shift ended at four a.m., when the two shops closed. Mr. Tenchow might desire to cater to the nocturnal shifters in the community, but there were few repeat customers. Whatever. If her boss wanted to toss away his money on this enterprise, so be it.
At four on the dot, Lori had locked up and was strolling the few blocks to her house in the quiet, dimly lit streets of the city she had lived in all her life.
Get it on May 8th at www.amirapress.com
You'll love it.
-Brenda Steele
www.brendasteele.webs.com
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Get a free read
Hey All!
When Immortal Fire is released on February 7th at Sugar and Spice Press, attached will be my free read, Two Worlds.
Two Worlds is about Kiley who thought she was a regular woman, living a regular life, until the night a gateway opens in the middle of downtown. Through it comes a man who claims to be her husband, and behind him comes his twin brother who claims she was his lover before she met the man whose soul she seems to have a connection with.
Kiley learns she is not twenty-seven years old, but one hundred twenty-seven, and she's lived a life in another world she could only imagine. The battle begins between two poweful men who weild an unbelievable magic, a struggle to reclaim Kiley, body and soul.
Check out this free read that will be free when you purchase my novella, Immortal Fire.
I hope you like them both!
When Immortal Fire is released on February 7th at Sugar and Spice Press, attached will be my free read, Two Worlds.
Two Worlds is about Kiley who thought she was a regular woman, living a regular life, until the night a gateway opens in the middle of downtown. Through it comes a man who claims to be her husband, and behind him comes his twin brother who claims she was his lover before she met the man whose soul she seems to have a connection with.
Kiley learns she is not twenty-seven years old, but one hundred twenty-seven, and she's lived a life in another world she could only imagine. The battle begins between two poweful men who weild an unbelievable magic, a struggle to reclaim Kiley, body and soul.
Check out this free read that will be free when you purchase my novella, Immortal Fire.
I hope you like them both!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Accidental Mates: Darke Coming!
Accidental Mates: Darke, the final novella in the Accidental Mates series is coming January 30th! Be sure to pick up your copy then at Amira Press, www.amirapress.com. And if you haven't read the four previous novellas, you don't know what you're missing. Check them out as well at Amira Press.
Immortal Fire Coming February 7th!
On February 7th, Immortal Fire is releasing at Sugar and Spice Press. This one is scorching hot!!! I re-read this story yesterday and felt like I needed an air conditioner to cool me down in the dead of winter. Lol.
I wish that I could post all those places in books that really impact me, but if I did that I'd reveal too much of the book. So unfortunately, you'll have to settle for a blurb and an excerpt.
Blurb
Kai is half demon/ half human. She's only ever wanted to live as a human. The only manifestation of her father's heritage thus far has been her ability to see into another dimension and her ability to regenerate if she dies. When Kai goes looking for a new lover, she gets more than she barganed for in Donovan. He's not only one of the dispised immortals, he's got a hidden agenda, and Kai will find herself in a position to either help save two worlds of people or be destroyed by the one person she whose love she longs for.
Excerpt
“I cannot believe you dragged me here for the third year in a row, Mitzy,” Kai declared, miffed and already feeling boredom seep into her veins. They hadn’t moved past the doorway yet, but stood surveying Kai’s mother’s guests. All rich, all stuck up and none she wanted to get to know better.
“What can I say? I’m gifted.” Mitzi patted her long thin fingers on the back of Kai’s shoulder.
“Gifted.” Kai snorted. “I ought to skin you for always giving my mother hope.” Kai drifted farther into the room, tense expecting her mother to pounce with her latest husband-material human in tow.
Mitzi laughed behind her. “You’d have to catch me first.”
“Yeah. And you’d cheat. Probably turn into a cheetah or some other fast animal to get away from me.”
Her best friend chuckled, and the two of them strolled on the outer edges of the room, avoiding conversation with anyone but themselves. Kai scanned the crowd for her mother. Sure enough, a man about Kai’s height of five foot eight tagged along behind Claudia Mendel, looking too hopeful. Kai rolled her eyes then grabbed the first glass of wine that floated past her on a waiter’s tray.
She didn’t know why she had bothered to dress up. The slinky red dress and spiked heels were going to waste on this crowd. Most of the men were over fifty, and she had no interest in weak men. Yet, she’d have to choose one if she wanted a new lover, and an immortal was out of the question.
Feeling eyes on her, she scanned the room for the second time. All seemed to be absorbed in their conversations. She took a slow sip of her wine and spotted him over the rim. A good head taller than she was in her highest heels, shoulders that might block out the sun if he stood over her and eyes that were riveted to her body. She almost laughed at his boldness.
Leaning over to Mitzi and knowing she was being obvious, but not caring in the least, she whispered, “Tell me he’s not an immortal.”
“Who?” Mitzi glanced in the wrong direction.
“Two o’clock. Tall and sexy.”
When Mitzi’s eyes landed on him, she gasped.
Kai nodded. “Exactly. Well?”
“If you weren’t so closed off, Kai, you’d know whether or not he is immortal. Besides, this is a human event. Immortals weren’t invited.”
Kai grunted. “That’s never stopped them before.” She looked around to see where Bevin was and spotted him sitting in the corner, his chin tucked in his hand. He yawned, surveying the crowd. His gaze roved over the object of Kai’s lust and kept on moving. If Bevin hadn’t been alarmed, the man must be okay. Bevin, her trusty little demon bodyguard could pick up on non-humans a mile off. She wanted Mitzi’s confirmation. “Well, is he?”
Her friend seemed to be absorbed with drinking in the man with her eyes. Kai bumped her, and Mitzi snapped out of it. “Oh sorry. No, he’s normal. If hot can be normal.”
Kai set her glass down on a nearby table and swiped at the corners of her mouth. “Good, because I think I’ve just found my new lover.”
She allowed her hips a little extra sway as she strolled over to him and was gratified to see the bulge growing in his pants. Any other man would have begun to tug and try to hide it. He wore it almost like a badge of honor, daring anyone to comment. She grinned. Oh yes, he was not the average Joe.
When she drew up in front of him, she laid a hand on his chest and met his stare eye to eye. “Dance with me.”
His eyebrows shifted higher. “Commanded by a woman? I think not.”
The music for once had a good beat. She pivoted on the ball of one foot and let her body brush his as she swayed to the rhythm. “So you’ll miss the chance to caress all this?” Pushing her rounded ass out, she glanced at him over her shoulder. His eyes seemed to flash.
He took hold of her hips and began to move with her. They were too close for this particular party, but he didn’t appear to care any more than she did. “Bold aren’t you?” he commented.
She laughed. “I go after what I want. But yes, I’ve never been shy. Even with more to hang on to than I’d like.”
“Hmm?” He didn’t at first know what she meant. “Oh you mean the fact that you’re not nearly as pencil thin as your friend?”
“You obviously like it.”
He gave her a squeeze. “I most certainly do. Come back to my place. Or we can go to yours.”
“I don’t know your name.”
“So you’ll stand on ceremony?”
She shrugged and turned to face him, ran her hands up his chest until she could lock them behind his head. “No, I’d just like to know what name to shout out when you make me come. You will make me come, won’t you?” Going for broke, she thought up something more outrageous to unsettle him. “This pressing in my stomach isn’t for show is it?”
All she received in reply was a curving upward of one side of his mouth. She’d expected to have him rushing from the room with another comment or two. Only the men who didn’t have to take care of themselves in the nearest bathroom had been allowed to share her bed. She loved a man with control of himself, but not so much she couldn’t make him rock hard in the middle of a dance floor. And mystery man was most certainly stiff.
“I can tell already,” he affirmed while lowering his hands to her ass.
“Tell what?”
“That I am going to enjoy playing with you in every way possible.”
I wish that I could post all those places in books that really impact me, but if I did that I'd reveal too much of the book. So unfortunately, you'll have to settle for a blurb and an excerpt.
Blurb
Kai is half demon/ half human. She's only ever wanted to live as a human. The only manifestation of her father's heritage thus far has been her ability to see into another dimension and her ability to regenerate if she dies. When Kai goes looking for a new lover, she gets more than she barganed for in Donovan. He's not only one of the dispised immortals, he's got a hidden agenda, and Kai will find herself in a position to either help save two worlds of people or be destroyed by the one person she whose love she longs for.
Excerpt
“I cannot believe you dragged me here for the third year in a row, Mitzy,” Kai declared, miffed and already feeling boredom seep into her veins. They hadn’t moved past the doorway yet, but stood surveying Kai’s mother’s guests. All rich, all stuck up and none she wanted to get to know better.
“What can I say? I’m gifted.” Mitzi patted her long thin fingers on the back of Kai’s shoulder.
“Gifted.” Kai snorted. “I ought to skin you for always giving my mother hope.” Kai drifted farther into the room, tense expecting her mother to pounce with her latest husband-material human in tow.
Mitzi laughed behind her. “You’d have to catch me first.”
“Yeah. And you’d cheat. Probably turn into a cheetah or some other fast animal to get away from me.”
Her best friend chuckled, and the two of them strolled on the outer edges of the room, avoiding conversation with anyone but themselves. Kai scanned the crowd for her mother. Sure enough, a man about Kai’s height of five foot eight tagged along behind Claudia Mendel, looking too hopeful. Kai rolled her eyes then grabbed the first glass of wine that floated past her on a waiter’s tray.
She didn’t know why she had bothered to dress up. The slinky red dress and spiked heels were going to waste on this crowd. Most of the men were over fifty, and she had no interest in weak men. Yet, she’d have to choose one if she wanted a new lover, and an immortal was out of the question.
Feeling eyes on her, she scanned the room for the second time. All seemed to be absorbed in their conversations. She took a slow sip of her wine and spotted him over the rim. A good head taller than she was in her highest heels, shoulders that might block out the sun if he stood over her and eyes that were riveted to her body. She almost laughed at his boldness.
Leaning over to Mitzi and knowing she was being obvious, but not caring in the least, she whispered, “Tell me he’s not an immortal.”
“Who?” Mitzi glanced in the wrong direction.
“Two o’clock. Tall and sexy.”
When Mitzi’s eyes landed on him, she gasped.
Kai nodded. “Exactly. Well?”
“If you weren’t so closed off, Kai, you’d know whether or not he is immortal. Besides, this is a human event. Immortals weren’t invited.”
Kai grunted. “That’s never stopped them before.” She looked around to see where Bevin was and spotted him sitting in the corner, his chin tucked in his hand. He yawned, surveying the crowd. His gaze roved over the object of Kai’s lust and kept on moving. If Bevin hadn’t been alarmed, the man must be okay. Bevin, her trusty little demon bodyguard could pick up on non-humans a mile off. She wanted Mitzi’s confirmation. “Well, is he?”
Her friend seemed to be absorbed with drinking in the man with her eyes. Kai bumped her, and Mitzi snapped out of it. “Oh sorry. No, he’s normal. If hot can be normal.”
Kai set her glass down on a nearby table and swiped at the corners of her mouth. “Good, because I think I’ve just found my new lover.”
She allowed her hips a little extra sway as she strolled over to him and was gratified to see the bulge growing in his pants. Any other man would have begun to tug and try to hide it. He wore it almost like a badge of honor, daring anyone to comment. She grinned. Oh yes, he was not the average Joe.
When she drew up in front of him, she laid a hand on his chest and met his stare eye to eye. “Dance with me.”
His eyebrows shifted higher. “Commanded by a woman? I think not.”
The music for once had a good beat. She pivoted on the ball of one foot and let her body brush his as she swayed to the rhythm. “So you’ll miss the chance to caress all this?” Pushing her rounded ass out, she glanced at him over her shoulder. His eyes seemed to flash.
He took hold of her hips and began to move with her. They were too close for this particular party, but he didn’t appear to care any more than she did. “Bold aren’t you?” he commented.
She laughed. “I go after what I want. But yes, I’ve never been shy. Even with more to hang on to than I’d like.”
“Hmm?” He didn’t at first know what she meant. “Oh you mean the fact that you’re not nearly as pencil thin as your friend?”
“You obviously like it.”
He gave her a squeeze. “I most certainly do. Come back to my place. Or we can go to yours.”
“I don’t know your name.”
“So you’ll stand on ceremony?”
She shrugged and turned to face him, ran her hands up his chest until she could lock them behind his head. “No, I’d just like to know what name to shout out when you make me come. You will make me come, won’t you?” Going for broke, she thought up something more outrageous to unsettle him. “This pressing in my stomach isn’t for show is it?”
All she received in reply was a curving upward of one side of his mouth. She’d expected to have him rushing from the room with another comment or two. Only the men who didn’t have to take care of themselves in the nearest bathroom had been allowed to share her bed. She loved a man with control of himself, but not so much she couldn’t make him rock hard in the middle of a dance floor. And mystery man was most certainly stiff.
“I can tell already,” he affirmed while lowering his hands to her ass.
“Tell what?”
“That I am going to enjoy playing with you in every way possible.”
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Success! I finished!
I just finished my short for the Amira Press spring anthology. Right now it's entitled Midnight Shift. I have to go through and edit it, but not yet. I have some other things to work on. Below is a little synopsis and an unedited excerpt. This work will come out some time this spring with three other authors: Dahlia Rose, Dorian Wallace and Regina Paul. The name of the anthology is called Mating Season, and in keeping with that theme, I decided to center my story around one shape-shifter's mating season and issues he has at that time.
Midnight Shift by Brenda Steele
Lori lives in an alternate world of shifters and humans. No one knows when either began, they just know that humans far outnumber the wild and borderline uncivilized shifters. Right now, there is unrest in society. A law has been passed that says shifters must register and wear an identifying necklace or bracelet for tracking purposes.
One night when Lori's at her deadend job, which she doesn't really need because she lives on an inheritance from her mother, she meets Chase, a shifter who is about to go into his mating season. Chase can shape shift into a tiger, similar to the Bengal tiger. Unfortunately, for Chase, during this time, his shifting ability gets out of whack, and all he can think about is sex. He must find a lover soon or lose it.
Then Chase meets Lori, and her scent draws him as if she is his mate, but he doesn't want a mate. He only wants a lover until the spring season is past. And he certainly would never choose a human! Still, what the body craves . . .
Unedited Excerpt
Lori painted on the final layer of her volcano red polish to her toes while clutching the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She rested a heel on the stool she sat on and blew gently.
“Lori, are you doing your toes again?” her friend, Cammie, shouted into the phone. “Damn, you do them every freakin’ day of the week.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Cam. I do not.” Lori had to laugh. “Okay, three or four times tops, but that’s it. You know I can’t stand chipped polish, and one was smudged a little. I had no choice.”
“It’s a fetish is what is it,” Cammie told her. “Admit it. You’re into feet. I don’t see you doing your fingernails like that.”
Lori glanced at her fingers with little interest. “I don’t use color on them.”
A bell dinged at the other end of the building. She glanced up, but knew she wouldn’t be able to see through the bookstore where she worked, over to the connecting easy mart. At three in the morning, some idiot was shopping. Noting the time had reminded her that it was late, and her body should be in bed. But she had taken this part-time job. She was in it for the long haul.
“I better go, Cam. Someone came in the easy mart. It’s likely they won’t find anything edible over there, and they’ll come over this side to browse.” She yawned. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep for a change.”
Her friend blew out a noisy breath. “I doubt it, but I’ll lay here as usual. Talk to you tomorrow. Night.”
Lori hung up the phone just as the customer moved to the doorway separating the easy mart from the bookstore. Despite herself, she gasped. Of course she had expected it to be one of the shifters. Besides, who else was stupid enough to be up at this time of night browsing through Mr. Tenchow’s food items. All of it was unappetizing if you asked her.
But this man, or rather shape-shifter was striking. She hadn’t seen him before. He was tall and thickly built, solid muscle if she were to guess. He had long sandy brown hair that hung heavy on his shoulders and honey-colored eyes that made her heart kick up a notch or two. His jeans hung just right on narrow hips, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat to show the slightest peek at a chest a woman could lose her sanity lying on.
However, despite the male perfection, what put Lori’s back up was the fact that this was no human and that he was proud to show it. Most of the shape-shifters stayed in humanlike form when among humans. This man’s short furry ears twitched amid his hair on the top of his head, and the claws on his hands and feet were extended past his finger tips.
He frowned when he spotted Lori, disapproval clear even in the stiff way he walked when he crossed the space between them. “It’s that unsanitary?”
Could her back get up any higher? “Excuse me?”
He nodded toward her foot, still tucked on the edge of her stool. “This is a grocery store.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get carried away. Tenchow’s Easy Mart is no grocery store. There’s nothing fresh in there. Besides, the mart is on that side. This is the bookstore, and I put my shoes on should I have to cross to that side, which is rare.”
He grunted.
“And you’re one to talk. You’re barefooted.”
He glanced toward the bookstore entrance. “I did not see ‘no shoes, no service’ sign.”
Lori dropped her foot, stood and recapped her polish. “Well this isn’t my store, is it? I’m not Tenchow. Now, what can I do for you?”
Instead of speaking, he let his gaze pass down over her body, taking in her slender figure from head to toe. He was tall enough that he could surely see her newly polished toes over the counter. Lori fidgeted when his gaze rose again. She hated that she was wondering what he thought of her, if he found her attractive.
Her body wasn’t much to speak of. She had been a little on the thin side all her life, made worse by the fact that she was just under six feet—not a positive when she had stretched high above all the boys while coming up in school. At least she had a decent breast size, a C cup, and she had a little bit of an ass.
She slapped her hands on her hips and dropped her weight to one leg. “Are you finished? I could turn around if you like?”
“Human.” He said it with distaste in his mouth.
“Shifter,” she countered. “One with no respect for others.”
A sandy brow rose, but he said nothing. From the look of him, he was the kind of shifter that believed he was superior to humans and hated having any dealings with them.
A tinkling laugh came from behind him, and a small woman—one of the most beautiful Lori had ever seen—stepped out from behind the arrogant man. She hooked an arm through his and pursed her lips. “Don’t mind Chase. He’s all grumpy because his mating season is coming soon. Right about the time of the spring equinox.”
Chase growled low in his throat. “Do not tell my business, Nichelle.”
Nichelle laughed and stuck out her tongue at him. She was too adorable. Lori wished they would leave now. The woman was obviously his mate seeing she was practically glued to his arm. But what the hell did Lori care? She’d never looked twice at a shifter male.
“It’s a little late for mating season for you, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be coming to a close?”
The honey eyes narrowed. She’d apparently offended him again.
“You are thinking of the Bengal tiger. I do not follow that animal’s patterns.”
As if he wasn’t an animal. She shrugged. “Sorry. So . . . you wanted?”
“I was looking for something to read.” He unhooked himself from Nichelle with difficulty. Lori bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. He was either too stiff to show affection in public or Nichelle was not his lover. Lori told herself she didn’t care one way or another.
She slipped her feet into her flip flops and moved around the counter. “Okay, well this is Tenchow’s mind you, so we don’t have a lot, but there are some funny comics over on that last row if you’re interested.” She glanced back at Gloomy. He didn’t respond. “Okay, well, here are the books on politics.”
“Anything new?”
“Nope.” She moved on. “Here are some romances.”
She stopped moving and speaking. He was right up on her, that low rumble in his throat sending shivers over her body. Beside her, he rested a hand on the shelf, and the heat of his breath warmed her neck. “Your scent,” he whispered.
Mating season. Damn. She should have realized. The man was hornier than usual right now, and she had assumed it would not be directed her way since she wasn’t his kind. He had a beautiful woman with him after all. She had to be a shifter as well, because humans and shifters did not fraternize.
“Um. You might like the books in this aisle.” She searched for anything that might break him out of the lust that had seemed to take control of him. Looking back over her shoulder and tilting her chin upward, she realized he was taller than she had first thought. He was a good six or seven inches taller than she, and he was so near with his head tilted downward, their lips were too close to each other.
Lori grabbed a book, any book, and shoved it into his chest. That was a mistake. The barrier of hardened muscle made her feel like sagging into that chest and offering her lips to him. This was ridiculous. She did not under any circumstances date shifters. No human did, and she was not the type to be the first.
Still, the eyes locked her in place, not allowing her to escape. Is this what the Bengal tigers did to their prey? No, he said he was not like a regular tiger, but the stripes on his cheeks looked like them, and the fur on his cat’s ears atop his head. The eyes. Somebody save me.
Nichelle yanked on his arm. “Get a grip on yourself, Chase. Let’s go. You don’t want a human.”
The spell was broken. Lori breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried back around the counter. “So will that be it?” She hoped the tremor in her voice was all in her imagination. The disapproval on Nichelle’s face said otherwise.
The two were squared away quickly, and the next time Lori looked at the clock, it was time to pack up and leave for the night. Her shift ended at four a.m. when the two shops closed. Mr. Tenchow might desire to cater to the nocturnal shifters in the community, but there were few repeat customers. Whatever. If her boss wanted to toss away his money on this enterprise, so be it.
At four on the dot, Lori had locked up and was strolling the few blocks to her house in the quiet dimly lit streets of the city she had lived in all her life.
Midnight Shift by Brenda Steele
Lori lives in an alternate world of shifters and humans. No one knows when either began, they just know that humans far outnumber the wild and borderline uncivilized shifters. Right now, there is unrest in society. A law has been passed that says shifters must register and wear an identifying necklace or bracelet for tracking purposes.
One night when Lori's at her deadend job, which she doesn't really need because she lives on an inheritance from her mother, she meets Chase, a shifter who is about to go into his mating season. Chase can shape shift into a tiger, similar to the Bengal tiger. Unfortunately, for Chase, during this time, his shifting ability gets out of whack, and all he can think about is sex. He must find a lover soon or lose it.
Then Chase meets Lori, and her scent draws him as if she is his mate, but he doesn't want a mate. He only wants a lover until the spring season is past. And he certainly would never choose a human! Still, what the body craves . . .
Unedited Excerpt
Lori painted on the final layer of her volcano red polish to her toes while clutching the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She rested a heel on the stool she sat on and blew gently.
“Lori, are you doing your toes again?” her friend, Cammie, shouted into the phone. “Damn, you do them every freakin’ day of the week.”
“Don’t exaggerate, Cam. I do not.” Lori had to laugh. “Okay, three or four times tops, but that’s it. You know I can’t stand chipped polish, and one was smudged a little. I had no choice.”
“It’s a fetish is what is it,” Cammie told her. “Admit it. You’re into feet. I don’t see you doing your fingernails like that.”
Lori glanced at her fingers with little interest. “I don’t use color on them.”
A bell dinged at the other end of the building. She glanced up, but knew she wouldn’t be able to see through the bookstore where she worked, over to the connecting easy mart. At three in the morning, some idiot was shopping. Noting the time had reminded her that it was late, and her body should be in bed. But she had taken this part-time job. She was in it for the long haul.
“I better go, Cam. Someone came in the easy mart. It’s likely they won’t find anything edible over there, and they’ll come over this side to browse.” She yawned. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Try to get some sleep for a change.”
Her friend blew out a noisy breath. “I doubt it, but I’ll lay here as usual. Talk to you tomorrow. Night.”
Lori hung up the phone just as the customer moved to the doorway separating the easy mart from the bookstore. Despite herself, she gasped. Of course she had expected it to be one of the shifters. Besides, who else was stupid enough to be up at this time of night browsing through Mr. Tenchow’s food items. All of it was unappetizing if you asked her.
But this man, or rather shape-shifter was striking. She hadn’t seen him before. He was tall and thickly built, solid muscle if she were to guess. He had long sandy brown hair that hung heavy on his shoulders and honey-colored eyes that made her heart kick up a notch or two. His jeans hung just right on narrow hips, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the throat to show the slightest peek at a chest a woman could lose her sanity lying on.
However, despite the male perfection, what put Lori’s back up was the fact that this was no human and that he was proud to show it. Most of the shape-shifters stayed in humanlike form when among humans. This man’s short furry ears twitched amid his hair on the top of his head, and the claws on his hands and feet were extended past his finger tips.
He frowned when he spotted Lori, disapproval clear even in the stiff way he walked when he crossed the space between them. “It’s that unsanitary?”
Could her back get up any higher? “Excuse me?”
He nodded toward her foot, still tucked on the edge of her stool. “This is a grocery store.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get carried away. Tenchow’s Easy Mart is no grocery store. There’s nothing fresh in there. Besides, the mart is on that side. This is the bookstore, and I put my shoes on should I have to cross to that side, which is rare.”
He grunted.
“And you’re one to talk. You’re barefooted.”
He glanced toward the bookstore entrance. “I did not see ‘no shoes, no service’ sign.”
Lori dropped her foot, stood and recapped her polish. “Well this isn’t my store, is it? I’m not Tenchow. Now, what can I do for you?”
Instead of speaking, he let his gaze pass down over her body, taking in her slender figure from head to toe. He was tall enough that he could surely see her newly polished toes over the counter. Lori fidgeted when his gaze rose again. She hated that she was wondering what he thought of her, if he found her attractive.
Her body wasn’t much to speak of. She had been a little on the thin side all her life, made worse by the fact that she was just under six feet—not a positive when she had stretched high above all the boys while coming up in school. At least she had a decent breast size, a C cup, and she had a little bit of an ass.
She slapped her hands on her hips and dropped her weight to one leg. “Are you finished? I could turn around if you like?”
“Human.” He said it with distaste in his mouth.
“Shifter,” she countered. “One with no respect for others.”
A sandy brow rose, but he said nothing. From the look of him, he was the kind of shifter that believed he was superior to humans and hated having any dealings with them.
A tinkling laugh came from behind him, and a small woman—one of the most beautiful Lori had ever seen—stepped out from behind the arrogant man. She hooked an arm through his and pursed her lips. “Don’t mind Chase. He’s all grumpy because his mating season is coming soon. Right about the time of the spring equinox.”
Chase growled low in his throat. “Do not tell my business, Nichelle.”
Nichelle laughed and stuck out her tongue at him. She was too adorable. Lori wished they would leave now. The woman was obviously his mate seeing she was practically glued to his arm. But what the hell did Lori care? She’d never looked twice at a shifter male.
“It’s a little late for mating season for you, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be coming to a close?”
The honey eyes narrowed. She’d apparently offended him again.
“You are thinking of the Bengal tiger. I do not follow that animal’s patterns.”
As if he wasn’t an animal. She shrugged. “Sorry. So . . . you wanted?”
“I was looking for something to read.” He unhooked himself from Nichelle with difficulty. Lori bit down on the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing. He was either too stiff to show affection in public or Nichelle was not his lover. Lori told herself she didn’t care one way or another.
She slipped her feet into her flip flops and moved around the counter. “Okay, well this is Tenchow’s mind you, so we don’t have a lot, but there are some funny comics over on that last row if you’re interested.” She glanced back at Gloomy. He didn’t respond. “Okay, well, here are the books on politics.”
“Anything new?”
“Nope.” She moved on. “Here are some romances.”
She stopped moving and speaking. He was right up on her, that low rumble in his throat sending shivers over her body. Beside her, he rested a hand on the shelf, and the heat of his breath warmed her neck. “Your scent,” he whispered.
Mating season. Damn. She should have realized. The man was hornier than usual right now, and she had assumed it would not be directed her way since she wasn’t his kind. He had a beautiful woman with him after all. She had to be a shifter as well, because humans and shifters did not fraternize.
“Um. You might like the books in this aisle.” She searched for anything that might break him out of the lust that had seemed to take control of him. Looking back over her shoulder and tilting her chin upward, she realized he was taller than she had first thought. He was a good six or seven inches taller than she, and he was so near with his head tilted downward, their lips were too close to each other.
Lori grabbed a book, any book, and shoved it into his chest. That was a mistake. The barrier of hardened muscle made her feel like sagging into that chest and offering her lips to him. This was ridiculous. She did not under any circumstances date shifters. No human did, and she was not the type to be the first.
Still, the eyes locked her in place, not allowing her to escape. Is this what the Bengal tigers did to their prey? No, he said he was not like a regular tiger, but the stripes on his cheeks looked like them, and the fur on his cat’s ears atop his head. The eyes. Somebody save me.
Nichelle yanked on his arm. “Get a grip on yourself, Chase. Let’s go. You don’t want a human.”
The spell was broken. Lori breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried back around the counter. “So will that be it?” She hoped the tremor in her voice was all in her imagination. The disapproval on Nichelle’s face said otherwise.
The two were squared away quickly, and the next time Lori looked at the clock, it was time to pack up and leave for the night. Her shift ended at four a.m. when the two shops closed. Mr. Tenchow might desire to cater to the nocturnal shifters in the community, but there were few repeat customers. Whatever. If her boss wanted to toss away his money on this enterprise, so be it.
At four on the dot, Lori had locked up and was strolling the few blocks to her house in the quiet dimly lit streets of the city she had lived in all her life.
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