I, for one, am on pins and needles to read Nalini’s new Urban Fantasy about Vampire bounty hunters. Her Paranormal Romance series, the Psy-Changelings, is so very good. If the cover is anything to judge by, ANGELS’ BLOOD will be a smashing good show too.
Today’s post is brought to you by Christine, the Number 5 and the Letter L. The rules:
1. Comment on this blog and ask for a letter.
2. I will give you one.
3. Think of 5 fictional characters whose name begins with that letter, and post their names and your comments on that character on your blog.
1. Logan, AKA Wolverine from the X-Men Marvel Comics, has been my favorite, ever since I fell in love with him watching X-Men cartoons every Saturday morning as a kid. He continues to stop my heart in the X-Men movies as played by Hugh Jackman. *swoon*. Logan is the original hawt werewolf-type alpha hero, with animal-keen senses and a tortured loner psyche. What girl wouldn’t want to be the one to tame his wild heart? Jean Gray is one lucky biyatch.
2. Lucas Hunter, hero of SLAVE TO SENSATION by Nalini Singh. Lucus, like Logan, is a sensory-driven, sexy-as-all-get-out Alpha male. He is Protective, both of his pack and of his woman. Brave, honorable, and kind, what more could you want in a hero? He also likes Tamsynn’s babies, and any man who likes babies gets an A in my book.
3. Lannes, hero of THE WILD ROAD by Marjorie M. Liu. Lannes is my kind of hero: fiercely protective, strong, intelligent, and above all honorable. He has been tortured, but doesn’t give up hope. He does not take his pain out on those around him. Instead, when danger threatens a strange woman he risks his neck to help her.
4. Lucas Marsden, hero of “Paradise” by Meljean Brook in the WILD THING anthology. Vampire Lucas is a leading man in more than just acting: he guides his small colony of vampires in Ashland and protects them from the Demon that is killing then one by one. A real man is big enough to accept help when it’s offered, especially when that help comes in the sexy package of Guardian Selah. (Heeeey, look at that cover! Think Lannes and Lucas are related?)
5. Luke Skywalker, hero of STAR WARS by George Lucas. When I was little I liked Luke. I didn’t understand why everyone else loved the rude, arrogant, and mean Han Solo. And then I grew up…. Still, Luke is definitely the hero of the epic space opera. His journey from boy to man–receiving the call to adventure, passing the threshold to a new world, learning the rules of the new world from his mentor, facing his dark night of the soul, and finally saving the universe–is the classic Hero’s Journey on which all of us aspiring writers take copious notes. Joseph Campbell, eat your heart out.
TITLE: Hostage to Pleasure
AUTHOR: Nalini Singh
SERIES: Psy-Changelings
PUBLICATION: Penguin September 2008
GENRE: Paranormal (Futuristic) Romance
RATING: <3 <3 <3 <3
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Nalini Singh writes one thrilling adventure. Her heroes are tough, protective alpha males. Her heroines are brilliant scientists, healers, and business women. Together, they never fail to create sparks.
HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE, the fifth book in her Psy-Changeling series, is another hit. During a rescue operation in book 4, MINE TO POSSESS, Leopard Changeling sentinel Dorian Christensen met the mysterious Psy scientist Ashaya Aleine. Dorian didn’t know whether to jump her or shoot her, and the attraction was mutual. HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE begins as Dorian repays Ashaya for her help in the rescue by saving her 4-year-old son from the Psy who are holding him hostage. Ashaya stages her own death to escape the secret underground lab where she works, and Dorian finds her passing through leopard territory.
The leopards broadcast a live feed of Ashaya telling the world about the Psy’s plans to manufacture an implant that would give the Psy a hive mind and a virus that could be used as a bioweapon to wipe-out non-psy. The Psy Council demands she be silenced immediately, before she gives more ammo to the growing rebellion. Ashaya is hunted by both the Psy elite assassins and her sociopath twin sister. Dorian has no love for the Psy: his sister was brutally murdered by one of their pet killers. He is torn when his inner leopard decides Ashaya is his for the taking. Can he trust a psy? He tries to keep her alive long enough to make up his mind.
Nalini Singh is hosting a Hostage to Pleasure Release Contest on her blog to win a $75 gift certificate to the online bookstore of your choice. Here are my answers to her contest questions:
Q: Which fictional hero would you most like to hold hostage?
A: Colin Ames-Beaumont from Meljean Brook‘s Guardian Series (Hero in DEMON MOON)
Q: Which fictional hero would you most like to be held hostage by?
A: Lucas Hunter from Nalini Singh’s SLAVE TO SENSATION
Q: Which fictional world would you most like to be held hostage in?
A: The Psy-Changeling world, if I get to be part of the leopard pack (Really, I’m not sucking up! – I answered this one months ago on my DIK Blog “about me” post)
Today through Wednesday Author Ann Aguirre is guest blogging on the Desert Island Keeper Blog. Please stop by and say hi! I met Ann at the RWA national conference this year and she was completely out of books by the time I found her at the publisher signings. Not surprising, considering all the great things I’ve heard about her books.
Stay tuned for more fabulously sexy author guests on the Island where the margaritas are cold, the heroes are hot and the books are to die for:
Nalini Singh‘s Psy/Changelings is one of the best paranormal romance series for its complex world building, political intrigue, psychological drama, emotional full-bodied characters, and hot Alpha males.
Book 1: Slave To Sensation
Book 2: Visions of Heat
Book 3: Caressed By Ice
Book 4: Mine to Possess
Book 5: Hostage to Pleasure, is already getting rave reviews. The release date is September 2008.
Cliff Note Version:
heroine: I am a psy. I have no emotions.
hero: I can’t want the enemy, I must stay loyal to my pack. I hate psy, but my inner cat wants to fuck you anyway.
heroine: No, I cannot be attracted to you. I must maintain Silence, or they will kill me.
hero: I don’t care. I can tell you feel something for me, you can’t hide it from my cat senses. Give in to me.
heroine: No! You are breaking my shields! I must maintain silence!
hero: Nope. I’m gonna fuck you like an animal.
heroine: The bad guys will kill me!
hero: Tough. I’ll protect you.
*they make love*
heroine: Wow. I can’t believe the psy gave that up.
hero: Purrrrrrr.
heroine: Oh noes! the bad guys are on to me!
hero: Grrrrowl.
heroine: Can I really leave the psynet? *pop* I guess I can.
hero: Baby, ever seen what a cat can do with his tongue?
*And they lived Happily Ever After*
The 2008 Romance Writers of America Conference is finally over. My very first time at the conference, it has been a fabulous, overwhelming week of much squeeeing and many deer-in-the-headlights moments. I am exhausted and need a month to recover, but must get back to work WRITING! My critique partner spent the conference holed up in her hotel room rewriting her opening chapters. I bow in her general direction. Good lord, that’s dedication. Me, I was busy hiding behind plants and generally making a fool of myself. (I’m terribly shy. Brad Paisley has it right: I’m so much cooler online.)
Highlight 1: Star Struck – Meeting My Favorite Authors *squeeeee!*
(above left) Nora Roberts remembered my Ferrets Against Plagiarism teeshirt and said her grandkids wear theirs all the time. 
(above right) Harlequin authors Delores Fossen and Jessica Andersen.
(above left) Larissa Ione signs PLEASURE UNBOUND. (above right) Lisa Kleypas *fans self* signs SUGAR DADDY. Yup, I own both these books. But I lurve them and so I need signed copies.
(above left) Kresley Cole signed the most recent IMMORTALS AFTER DUSK book. (above right) Nalini Singh ran out of books *sob* but she signed the ARC of HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE for me. Too bad I have to give it back to Katie(babs).
(above left) Mother-Daughter team P.C. and Kristin Cast. (above right) Lori Handeland signed ARCs of her new Urban Fantasy series.
(above left) Melissa Marr signed copies of her 2008 RITA winner in the YA category WICKED LOVELY. (above right) Julia London also ran out of books, but she talked to me for a bit. 
Highlight 2: Romance Bloggers Rule the World
Finally met quite a few of the lovely ladies I’ve been blogging with over the past year: the Smart Bitches, Jane from Dear Author, Katie(babs) and Kristi(J), Wendy Super Librarian, Little Alys, Lisabea, Sula, Tracy, Rosie, Amy, and I apologize in advance for forgetting anyone else…my brain is fried. I also met Twitter friends. Teh Internetz is amazing.
Highlight 3: Christmas in July from Jolly Old Saint Martin and his publishing friends
This picture only shows the stash from Friday. Saturday I attended three more publisher signings, and scored a bunch of Advanced Reader Copies from TOR. I put the ARCs in my suitcase and shipped the two full boxes back.
Highlight 4: Writing Workshops (wait, there were workshops?)
Been there, done that, bought the CD. Actually I did attend a few, and I’ll write up my notes (no promises) when I get back home.
A non-romance-reading friend recently asked me for paranormal romance recommendations. Of course I jumped at the chance to pimp books, but the pressure is hot. The mission, should I chose to accept it (and I did): She needs to be completely sucked in and addicted for life. It’s imperative. (Especially if I’m moving to Portland! I want her to join the Cheeky Pages Romance Book Group at Powell’s with me and attend all the Romance author signings in Cedar Hill Crossing.)
I wrote up a list of recommendations and started filling a box of books for her. Mr. Wonderful called me crazy, said I was going to scare her, and told me to tone it down, so I sent him to Portland with only 7 books from my shelves to tempt her to the dark side. Her reading tastes have been everywhere from chick lit to horror. My goal was to give her a wide cross-section so that she would have a better chance of finding her poison of choice. Does she prefer light or dark paranormals? High Fantasy or Urban Fantasy? Hot or sweet? Irreverent or serious? Here are the books I sent her, and my thoughts on the series to recommend NEXT if that book hits the spot, from DARK to LIGHT:
I don’t own the first book in Nalini or Meljean’s series, otherwise I would have sent them. (I hope to get autographed copies for my forever shelf soon!) Would have sent Dark Lover and Moon Called, but my copies are already on loan to other friends.
What books would you recommend to a Paranormal Romance virgin? What books are out-of-this world that are guaranteed to get my friend addicted?
EDITED TO ADD: She’s starting with BITTEN!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH MELJEAN!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Last night I found the best present ever in my mailbox: An ARC of DEMON BOUND by Meljean Brook!!! The book is available for pre-order on Amazon, to be released November 4. Am I lucky or what?
Synopsis DEMON BOUND:
Among the Guardians, Alice Grey is known as the Black Widow—a woman trapped in a web spun by the demon Teqon. To save her soul, she agreed to deliver to Teqon the heart of the oldest and most powerful Guardian of all, or else be damned for eternity. After more than a hundred years, Teqon is calling in his debt.
Jake Hawkins is a novice Guardian whose gift of teleportation could be invaluable to Alice in determining her next move. But in aligning himself with her he never expected to fall in love. Now, their passionate flight to escape Alice’s damnable bargain is threatening both their souls. For they’re about to discover a hellish secret about the Guardians—something that will change their universe forever.
I LURVE Meljean’s Guardian series. It is one of my favorite paranormal romance series of all time and I recommend it to everyone. Fascinating mythology and characters that jump right off the page. I jumped on Ethan McCabe (DEMON NIGHT) first for my Desert Island Keeper Hut, followed by Hugh Castleford (DEMON ANGEL). In total six of her characters will be on the Island. That’s some strong book love!
The Guardian Series (which really should be read in order):
I’ve read all the books that have been released. Demon Angel and Demon Moon are probably my favorite, but the hero I would personally like as my very own is Ethan from Demon Night. Lilith and Savitri Murray are high up on my list of favorite heroines of all time too.
In addition, to top off the best birthday ever, some of my dear blogging friends have offered to let me borrow their ARCs after which I lust: HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE (Psy-Chagelings book 5) by Nalini Singh and CRY WOLF (Alpha and Omega book 1) by Patricia Briggs!!! I am eagerly awaiting their arrival in the mail. These are two of my very favorite authors. Luv, true luv. Thank you!!!
I am in book heaven. However will next year compete?
A Vampire, a Werewolf and a Demon walk into a bar…
Vampires might have established the paranormal genre, but werewolves are the heroes closest to my heart. Last night, as I cuddled up in bed with a stack of books trying to ease my anticipation for Patricia Briggs’ upcoming CRY WOLF, I realized that I am very definitely on a werewolf kick. It might be my childhood fascination with Elf Quest Graphic Novels. It might be the Little Red Ridinghood inside us all. Whatever it is, Werewolf heroes have captured my imagination in a way that Vampires, those soulless tortured loners, have failed to do.
“Like most animals, werewolves spend a large part of their lives engaged in the three Fs of basic survival: feeding, fighting and…reproduction.” – Elena Michaels, werewolf heroine of BITTEN by Kelley Armstrong
Why I love Werewolves and wolf Shape-shifters:
Werewolf books on my shelves (first in series):
1. MOON CALLED by Patricia Briggs (Book 1: Mercy Thompson series) Have I talked about this series enough? Cuz I lurve it like a vamp loves blood.
Mercy Thompson’s life is not exactly normal. Her next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she’s fixing a VW bus for a vampire. But then, Mercy isn’t exactly normal herself.
2. “Alpha and Omega” Novella by Patricia Briggs in anthology ON THE PROWL (Prequel: Alpha and Omega series) CRY WOLF to be realeased July 29!!!
These all-new paranormal romances from today’s hottest authors feature a female werewolf who comes into her own; a Lord who crosses paths with a fiery mage; a mixed-blood Child of the Moon who faces an uncertain future; and a woman whose sixth sense proves to be a dangerous talent.
3. BITTEN by Kelly Armstrong (Book 1: Women of the Otherworld series)
Young, beautiful, and successful, Elena Michaels seems to have it all. Her happy, organized life follows a predictable pattern: filing stories for her job as a journalist, working out at the gym, living with her architect boyfriend, and lunching with her girlfriends from the office. And once a week, in the dead of night, she streaks through a downtown ravine, naked and furred, tearing at the throats of her animal prey.
Elena Michaels is a werewolf.
The man who made her one has been left behind, but his dark legacy has not. And though Elena struggles to maintain the normal life she’s worked so hard to create, she cannot resist the call of the elite pack of werewolves from her past. Her feral instincts will lead her back to them and into a desperate war for survival that will test her own understanding of who, and what, she is.
4. FULL MOON RISING by Keri Arthur (Book 1: Riley Jensen series)
A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…
Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.
In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.
5. HEART OF THE WOLF by Terry Spears
Their forbidden love may get them both killed
Bella is a red werewolf, sole survivor of the fire that killed her entire pack. Forced to flee her adopted gray pack when the alpha male becomes a vicious threat, she struggles to live as a lone wolf, until Devlyn, the gray male who rescued her as a pup, comes to bring her home. His passion for her wont be denied, but hes a beta, doomed to fight to the death if he so much as touches the alphas choice of mate.
When a local red werewolf goes on a killing spree, Bella and Devlyn must flee the murderer, the police and their vengeful pack leader. But with the full moon rising, and her heat upon her, Bella cant resist the pull to her destined mate
A sizzling paranormal romance based in extensive research on how wolves live and behave in the wild, creating a fascinating world of nature and fantasy
6. TEMPTING DANGER by Eileen Wilks (Book 1: World of the Lupi)
Lily Yu is a San Diego police detective investigating a series of grisly murders that appear to be the work of a werewolf. To hunt down the killer, she must infiltrate the clans. Only one man can help her – a werewolf named Rule Turner, a prince of the lupi, whose charismatic presence disturbs Lily. Rule has his own reasons for helping the investigation – reasons he doesn’t want to share with Lily. Logic and honor demand she keep her distance, but the attraction between them is immediate, devastating, and beyond human reason. Now, in a race to fend off evil, Lily finds herself in uncharted territory, tested as never before, and at her back a man who she’s not sure she can trust.
7. WOLF AT THE DOOR by Christine Warren (Book 1: The Others)
Sullivan Quinn didn’t travel 3,000 miles from his native Ireland and his wolf pack just to chase rabidly after the most delectable quarry he’s ever seen. Quinn is in America on a mission—to warn his Other brethren of a shadowy group willing to use murder and mayhem to bring them down. But one whiff of this Foxwoman’s delicious honeysuckle fragrance and he knows that she is more than a colleague or a conquest…she is his mate.
Anthropologist Cassidy Poe is a world-renowned authority on social interaction, but the overpowering desire she feels around Quinn defies every ounce of her expertise. Working by his side to uncover The Others’ enemies poses risks she never expected—to her own safety, to those she loves, and to her heart, as every encounter with Quinn proves more blissfully erotic than the last…
Now, with no one to trust but each other, Quinn and Cassidy face a foe that’s edging closer every day, threatening to destroy the life they’ve always known, and the passion they’ve just discovered…
8. A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER by Kresley Cole (Book 1: Immortals after Dark)
A mythic warrior who’ll stop at nothing to possess her . . .
After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he’s waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.
A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .
Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents — until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae — and their notorious dark desires — ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.
An all-consuming desire . . .
Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?
9. CARESSED BY ICE by Nalini Singh (Book 3: Psy-Changelings)
Brenna, a she-wolf Psy, was abducted by a serial killer-and returned a monster. The only person who can help her is Judd, a telekinetic and Council defector. But the passion burning between them could push them both over the edge of sanity
10. BLUE MOON by Lori Handeland (Book 1: Nightcreatures series)
Miniwa, Wisconsin is under siege, but not by the usual summer tourists. The area’s normally shy wolf population has begun stalking human prey, and their victims have been disappearing…or worse. Something is happening in the woods. Something brutal and primitive…
Officer Jessie McQuade has seen plenty in her years on the force-but nothing as intriguing as the gorgeous, naked man she encounters while tracking a rogue wolf. Professor Will Cadotte is a Native American activist. He’s also the only man capable of distracting Jessie from her work. And for a cop, distraction-no matter how pleasurable-can be deadly. It’s against Jessie’s better judgment to accept Will’s help in her investigation, yet she soon finds herself doing exactly that-and more. Will’s dark, penetrating eyes see into a part of Jessie’s soul she never knew existed. It’s exhilarating…and terrifying.
Now, as a town’s deepest secrets come to light, no one is safe: not friends, lovers, or strangers. And as Jessie follows a bloody trail to the shocking truth, she’ll have to decide who she can trust when the moon is full…
11. KITTY AND THE MIDNIGHT HOUR by Carrie Vaughn (Book 1: Kitty Norville)
Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station’and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it’s Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?
What are your favorite Werewolf romance novels? Are there any you strongly recommend that I should check out?
I heart Nalini Singh. Her Psy/Changeling series has detailed world building and scrumptious characters. I particularly like the idea of “skin privileges.” If I could be in one book/series/world which would I pick? I’d be a leopard in Nalini’s Changeling world. I want to be Tamsyn and live in a tree house in the jungle and have cuddly baby leopards and a hot hubby and bake cookies for my pack. YUM! As I’m writing this, looking up links, I discovered that Tamsyn and Nate actually have their own story in the anthology An Enchanted Season. How did I miss this???
Nalini created a quiz: Which Psy/Changeling Hero is for you?
Your Psy/Changeling Hero: Lucas
Tough, dangerous and highly intelligent, the alpha of the DarkRiver leopard pack is a man who will demand everything from his mate. But he will give the same in return. And he will never let go.
Find out more about Lucas and the series at www.nalinisingh.com
Oh yeah, baby! Lucus is definitely my hero of choice.
Which hero is for you? Which book is your favorite?
Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh
Book 1: Slave to Sensation
Book 2: Visions of Heat
Book 3: Caressed by Ice
Book 4: Mine to Possess
Book 5: Hostage to Pleasure (September 2008)
If you have yet to discover the deliciousness that is the Psy/Changelings, hie thee to a bookstore!!!