Today’s Snippet Saturday theme is “The First Meeting Between a Character and a Villain.” I love this theme, because the possibilities are endless! So many options… I scanned through my books, and ultimately decided to share a scene from IN THE DARK, one of the stories that’s part of the NOTHING TO FEAR omnibus available at Loose Id.

This scene is unique, in that it comes very close to the end of the book. And yes, it is the first face-to-face encounter between the hero and the villain — the man who’s kept him from his wife for so long, he almost lost her. And at this point, he’s willing to do anything it takes to get his life back.
—

O’Grady slept in the last room at the end of the hall and, like his daughter, didn’t bother to lock the bedroom door. And why would he? Miguel’s job was to keep intruders away — and failing that, to sound the alarm before he died.

Evan didn’t hesitate this time. He cocked the gun, pressed it to O’Grady’s temple, and switched on the bedside lamp. A female shriek accompanied the flare of light. Evan cast the woman only a brief glance. One look at her glazed eyes and sallow skin, and he knew he didn’t have to worry.

O’Grady often brought drug addicts to his bed. Occupational hazard, he called it.

The woman darted a quick look at the gun, then sat up and pulled the bedsheet over her naked breasts, knowing better than to make another sound.

“Good girl.” Evan ground the barrel into O’Grady’s temple and had the satisfaction of seeing the older man’s ruddy complexion blanch. “Your daughter wasn’t nearly as smart.”

A flicker of terror shone in O’Grady’s blue eyes. He got it under control quickly, but not before Evan had a good glimpse of the man’s discomfort. “What do you want?”

“Two things. First, the name of your government contact. Second, you’re going to make a call. He’s going to come here. Now.”

O’Grady snorted, some of his bravado returning. “We have a meeting later tonight. You were invited, if I’m not mistaken. Your first one, too. Why not wait until then?”

Evan shrugged. “It doesn’t work that way. Not anymore.”

“I should have known better than to trust you.” O’Grady moved a fraction of an inch away from the gun, but Evan caught him by the back of the neck.

“You should have,” he agreed, his voice deadly calm. The finger pressed against the trigger remained still. It would only take a tiny muscle spasm to fire. “The name.”

“No.”

Evan grunted. “I’ll ask you one last time. The name. Please.” He drew out the last word in a sarcastic tone.

“Why should I?”

Evan released O’Grady’s pudgy neck and dug into the pocket of his jeans until he found what he was searching for. He pulled out a silver chain. An elaborate cross hung at the end of it.

O’Grady’s eyes widened when he recognized it. “Felicia.” His face paled further. “What have you done?”

Evan dangled the chain in front of O’Grady’s eyes, making sure the man could see the bright blood coating the clasp. “You think I came alone, Shamus? My friends have Felicia. They’re waiting on word from me to decide what they’re going to do to her.”

Sweat coated O’Grady’s forehead. He lifted a hand to wipe it away, then remembered the gun and dropped it into his lap. “W-who do you work for?”

Evan dropped the silver chain. It landed on the bedsheet, leaving a red smear on the white linen. He slipped his free hand into the other pocket and offered O’Grady his phone.

“Make the call.”

—

If you enjoyed that glimpse into Evan’s dangerous life, check out NOTHING TO FEAR, available now at Loose Id.

And don’t forget to visit the blogs of the other authors participating in Snippet Saturday this week:

I don’t have a writing mentor in real life. No professors, or experienced writers who have taken me under their wings. And yet, I do have a mentor. She just doesn’t know it.

Holly Lisle, for those of you who aren’t familiar with her, writes fabulous fantasy and sci/fi novels, and she’s taken forays into paranormal romantic suspense and young adult fiction. She also writes books on writing, for authors who want to make a living at this. She pulls no punches, but what I admire most about her is the dedication she has to helping other authors improve their craft, and their marketability.

Anyway, all this background is just to say that Holly does a fabulous job of leisurely chatting about what she’s working on, and how her writing went on any particular night. At the risk of boring you all, I’d like to do the same. It will help my thoughts gel, and it’s a nice way to get closure after a day’s work.

So, having said all that… I started a new project today. I’m in the early stages, still discovering my characters, my plot, and my world, but I’m having a lot of fun with it. I surprised myself tonight when my 2-hour brainstorming session resulted in some rather unexpected revelations that will make for a much richer, more conflict-driven book. I’m extremely excited to write, but I have more planning work before I’ll feel comfortable putting words on paper.

While you’re surfing the net, you may want to read…

• Stop Saying “Someday” to Your Writing (somedaysyndrome.com)
• Alice Hoffman Is Ready to Rumble (mediabistro.com)
• ISBW Special #43 - Holly Lisle Interview (murverse.com)

My good friend and fabulous romance novelist, Beth Kery, has a new release coming out next week, and I’m delighted to share a bit of info with all of you.

If you like your romance spicy, emotionally rich and satisfying, then read on!
Purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Restraint-Beth-Kery/dp/0425227693/
Excerpt: http://www.bethkery.com/sweet-restraint

SWEET RESTRAINT
Publisher: Berkley Heat
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback

This time, he’ll never let her go…

Chicago Special Agent Shane Dominic was in love with Laura Vasquez until the day she left him and married another man. Thirteen years may have passed, but Laura’s never disappeared from his fantasies, or destroyed his desire to learn the truth about why she left him. When her husband, the criminal mastermind behind an international ring of thieves, is murdered, Shane knows this is his one last, desperate chance to learn Laura’s secrets. And he’s not above using their scorching hot passion for one another and a little domination to do it.

One look at Shane, and Laura’s own memories come back to haunt her. Her feelings run deep, but she’d never divulge her secrets—a desperate vow that’s compromised when Shane stuns her by taking her as his captive to a secluded cabin. Here, she will finally belong to him, be subjected to his every torturously erotic whim, and be forced to trust him with a shocking truth she’s hidden for so long—one that will expose them to a danger closing in on the both of them.

I joined Snippet Saturday, a fabulous multi-author concept put together by the very talented Lauren Dane. This week’s premise is heroine seduction FAIL. What I like the most about Snippet Saturday is the fact that authors are encouraged to interpret the theme as they see fit.

The way I interpreted the theme is likely different than the way my fellow authors interpreted it. I’m bringing you a scene from SUMMONING DARKNESS, in which my demon hero, Varin, gives in to his feelings for a human thrall (NOT the heroine, BTW — see? There I go being different again).

I loved writing this scene. Enjoy!

—

Though his back was turned, he knew the exact moment when Lillian arrived. He felt her, even before the sentient stone guarding his chamber slid aside to let her pass. Her scent, musky with a tinge of something floral, even after all this time in the Underworld, taunted him.

“You asked for me, M-master?”

Varin frowned. It had been years since he’d snatched her from the mortal realm and brought her down to the Underworld with a batch of Forgotten. He’d been instantly taken with her and had immediately summoned her to his bed. She’d resisted him at first, but now she came willingly. Yet even though he’d sheltered her and had made sure she endured none of the torment the rest of her human brethren experienced, calling him Master still felt foreign to her. The word halted on her tongue each time she spoke it.

He turned to her, his breath catching in his throat. Lillian was the epitome of innocence, the embodiment of everything the Prince of Darkness sought to eliminate from the mortal realm. A full mane of shiny gold-spun hair tumbled around her shoulders and fell down her back. Her brilliant blue eyes glistened as she watched him in expectation, lower lip clenched between her teeth.

Crossing the distance between them, he swept her into his arms and pressed her light, curvy body to his much stronger one. She didn’t protest when he claimed her mouth but kissed him back eagerly, her lips parting to allow his tongue to slide inside. He poured everything he had into that one kiss, as though it had been years since he’d last held her rather than merely hours.

He spun her around and tossed her on the bed. She bounced lightly, a giggle escaping her throat, the crystalline sound echoing off the walls of his chamber and imbuing the dark interior with an instant pulse of joy.

I can almost see it, Varin thought as he lowered his body over hers, the glow she emitted, the golden aura that the Underworld hadn’t been able to rip from her. Her presence seemed to lift the dark shadows lingering in every corner of his chamber. Even her blonde hair shone like a halo in the orange lava glow.

He should hate her. He knew that with every ounce of logic he possessed. If Baal learned that Varin’s feelings for Lillian were more than simple infatuation, his punishment would be as severe as hers.

Yet even that knowledge wasn’t enough to convince Varin to send her away. Everything from her light, spicy scent to the pliant softness of her full lips conspired to drive him out of his mind.

He couldn’t get enough of her.

He loved her. With every beat of his demonic heart.

Varin trailed kisses down the line of her chin. Her pulse fluttered in the delicate hollow at the base of her throat and he paused to lick there, eliciting another giggle from his beloved.

The foreign sound should have grated. His Guardian training and his demon heritage should have instantly driven him to eliminate all traces of the exultant harmony. Yet he licked her again, and again, thinking he’d never tire of making her laugh.

He continued his path of exploration down between her breasts, his tongue sliding deep in the valley between them. She tasted of sweat and feminine allure, the light, spicy flavor making his mouth water for more of her.

Grabbing an ankle in each hand, he tossed her feet over his shoulders and buried his head between her thighs. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her throat. The urge to sample her delicate nether lips was too much to bear, and he swiped his tongue along the length of her slit, parting her labia.

Lillian was so different from the succubae. She craved tenderness and gentle lovemaking while they delighted in the sweet burn of never ending pain. Even the feathery thatch of pubic hair was foreign to him. Succubae had no body hair, their smooth, sleek forms perfectly designed for driving a man to the brink of insanity.

But Lillian was real. She was human, and even though she was no longer mortal, as a Forgotten, she maintained all her human traits.

He plunged deeper inside her, tasting the sweetness of her cream.

“Yes!” She quivered beneath him, her hips lifting off the bed and her back arching in an effort to bring him even closer to her pussy. “Take me over the edge, Master. Take me… Bite me. Claim me.”

She repeated the words like a mantra. He kissed and suckled her sex, filling his lungs with the scent and taste of her. His cock felt like it would explode, and she hadn’t even touched him.

Take me. Bite me. Claim me.

“Do it. Make me yours.”

She’d been asking him the same thing every night for weeks. Somehow, she’d learned more about demons than any lost soul ever had. She knew what his bite would do to her, and she wanted it.

Wanted him. Forever.

Take me. Bite me. Claim me.

The heady chant swam in his head, heightening his libido like a potent aphrodisiac. If he bit her, she’d be his. She’d be like him, transformed from a mere Forgotten mortal into a demon-kin, a half-breed. Baal would have no choice but to accept her.

The idea had seemed beyond contemplation when she’d first suggested it. Yet now, with his head buried deep between her thighs, he couldn’t remember why he hadn’t given in sooner. Turning her would solve so many problems. It was the one thing he could give her after everything she’d given him.

Varin’s hands moved across her back. He clamped his palms on her ass to steady her, then shifted his mouth slightly to her inner thigh. All his control and common sense was gone now, lost in a sea of lust. He was drowning in it and he had no intention of ever again coming up for air.

He bit down hard. She screamed, her cry sending a pang of agony into his heart. He suckled the wound quickly, knowing his saliva would already be traveling through her bloodstream. A few drops were all he needed to pass on to her. Genetics and the nature of things would do the rest.

He waited for her cry to subside, but it never did. Instead, it took on a wild keening edge. She pushed him away, shoving at him with her knees, kicking him with her feet. He fell backward off the bed, too stunned to speak or resist her sudden tantrum.

The world spun around him. The importance of what he’d done slammed into him, shaking him to the core. Surely this was simply a side-effect of the turning. He’d never done it before. To the best of his knowledge, no one had. Fucking a human was sometimes frowned upon, but generally accepted as common practice. Turning one into a half-breed was blasphemy, a desecration of everything the Prince of Darkness held dear.

Lillian levitated off the bed and spun in the air, heading straight for him. Her eyes glowed a deep crimson, brighter than that of an excited souleater. A volatile, vivid anger burned within their depths. The sight of it stole his breath.

“You!” Her voice sounded raw, filled with enough grief, pain and misery for a thousand tortured souls. “I’ve been dreaming of this moment for years.”

—

SUMMONING DARKNESS is part of the SEDUCED BY DARKNESS collection, soon to be re-released by Changeling Press.

And if you want more fabulous Snippet Saturday excerpts, check out the blogs of these wonderful authors:

Cynthia Eden

Sylvia Day

Leah Braemel

Shelli Stevens

Michelle Pillow

Jaci Burton

Anya Bast

Juliana Stone

Moira Rogers

Vivian Arend

As writers, we all have favorite words. We’ve got words we fall back on out of sheer laziness, words we adore but fear no one else will understand, words that turn us on.

We don’t often think about them — they’re just there, ready for the taking as we write our stories.

So if someone asked you to list the one hundred most beautiful words in the English language, could you do it? Dr. Goodword (Robert Beard) could. He’s been writing dictionaries, creating word lists, and writing poetry for 40 years, so I suppose he’s qualified to make that kind of sweeping statement.

He lists the words in alphabetical order, not in order of beauty, so he leaves the judgment call of which word should be #1 to us.

The complete list is here: http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/100_most_beautiful_words.html. What do you think? Did your favorite word make the Top 100?

Flickr image by powerbooktrance.

Beautiful Lies: A Novel by Lisa Unger
rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book hooked me from page one. The heroine tells her story in an engaging, conversational style. The writing is superb, filled with wonderful metaphors and striking imagery. A gruff, mysterious hero adds a perfect romantic subplot to this thriller. I was a little dissapointed that a couple of loose ends were allowed to slip, and that a deus ex machina twist at the ending got the heroine out of trouble, but even these two elements couldn’t detract from my utter enjoyment of this novel. I’ll definitely look for more books by Lisa Unger. (A+)

View all my reviews.

Nothing to Fear by Lacey Savage

Nothing to Fear by Lacey Savage
Publisher: Loose ID, LLC.
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short (127 pages)
Other: BDSM, M/F, M/F/M, Ménage, Spanking
Rating: 5 Cherries
Review by Cholla

Three women haunted by horrors from their pasts. Four men who want to show them there’s Nothing to Fear…

In the Air
If Kirk Healey hadn’t threatened to steal her biggest client, Meadow Gardiner would never have boarded another plane. In flight, only Kirk’s smoldering touch keeps Meadow from succumbing to soul-numbing fear. As kisses lead to a frantic encounter in the airplane lavatory, Meadow must trust her greatest rival to see her safely back on solid ground.

In the Dark
When a total blackout forces Shelly O’Rourke to face her paralyzing fear of the dark, she’s rescued from engulfing terror by the scorching caress (and occasional spanking!) of her estranged-and presumed dead-husband. Making love to a memory forces Shelly to confront her deepest fears…and some are just as menacing by the light of day.

In their Arms
Jennifer Meehan has no qualms about taking two lovers. A long history of cruel betrayal has taught her that unbridled sex is the only way to guard her heart. But the men she’s been seeing separately have joined forces, and now the time has come to reveal all: her body, her soul, and every secret fear she harbors in her heart.

Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual interaction, ménage (m/f/m), mild spanking.

Lacey Savage outdoes herself in this erotic romp through a collection of common phobias: flying, darkness, and intimacy. In each short, the heroine is faced with her fear and finds a steamy, sexy way to overcome it. With a little help, of course.

In the Air is the first novella in this collection and one of the most exciting. Frightened of flying, Meadow Gardiner is prepared to conquer her fear head on. Little does she know that her arch enemy, Kirk Healy, will be coming along for the ride. Meadow is a strong, upfront kind of woman. She knows her limits and is bound and determined to push them in order to get what she wants. Kirk comes off as a bit of a jerk at first until his real plan of action surfaces.

In the Air is followed by my favorite story in the series, In the Dark. In this second story, Shelly O’Rourke is coping with having been abandoned by her husband only to discover that he just may be dead. Shelly is an emotional woman struggling to come to grips with the way her life is headed, while trying to reassure her son. While on a flight to Madrid, Shelly is staying in a hotel when the city experiences a blackout. I think this was my favorite not because it was the most explicit, or the most emotional, but I think it was probably the most intense of the three. Trapped in the darkness and surprised by what you least expect…

In Their Arms finishes off the trio of stories with a bang. Jennifer Meehan suffers from the saddest of all phobias – the fear of being close to someone. She doesn’t let it interfere with her pleasure seeking, however, and has found not one but two constant lovers to run to when she needs them. This is a sweet and steamy story of how her two lovers turn the tables on her and help her on her way to learning to love and trust for the first time in many years.

Nothing to Fear is a wonderful collection of stories centering on something we’re all familiar with – the fear of something. Lacey’s frightened heroines are strong and seductive, scared and sexy. And as an added bonus, all three stories connect in a way that you’re really reading one story told from many viewpoints. It was a fascinating and different touch that made Nothing to Fear an even more enjoyable read.

Purchase Nothing to Fear from Loose Id

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic insights and advice on the writing life. Lamott has a breezy voice, filled with humor and a healthy dose of sarcasm. She doesn’t sugarcoat the tougher aspects of embarking upon a writing career, and she makes it clear from the beginning that the goal of publication is not the fabulous end-all-and-be-all so many people make it out to be. Writing is its own reward even when it’s painful, frustrating and just damned hard. Lamott never lets us forget that. (A)

View all my reviews.