Wednesday Words: NEW RELEASE – Cloudburst Ice Magic by Siobhan Muir

CBIM-600x1000 Cover This book, by my good friend Siobhan Muir is now available. Zack and Lily are fun characters and I loved the chance to catch up with them after their “Christmas close encounter” in a blizzard and an ice cave in Nevada. Set in the fabulous paranormal world of Cloudburst, Colorado, Siobhan has extended her Cloudburst “family” with these two original characters. Zack is an ice demon and Lily is the human he loves and wants to take as his mate. If you’ve read Siobhan, you know there are fun and sexy times in store. If you haven’t, why not?!?

EXCERPT:

Sleet laughed, saluted, and was gone in a hissing sprinkle of snowflakes. The desert air sucked up the moisture before it hit the ground and took Zach’s smile with it. He shoved the last of the totes into the back of his truck and closed the tailgate, grateful Sleet didn’t push too hard. He wasn’t ready to tell anyone of his impulsive choice to mate with Lily.

Speaking of which, why hasn’t she answered my texts? He checked his phone again to be sure, but he found a big ol’ nothing. He shook his head and sprayed a little shower of water around him. Crap. Nevada had launched into its warmer spring temperatures and he needed to make himself scarce in the lowlands or get out of Dodge entirely. He locked the empty cabin and glanced at his phone again, willing it to beep with an incoming text or email.

A chill ran up his back from his gut and all his crystalline hair rose to stand on end. Something’s wrong. He inhaled the balmy spring air and scanned the softly dripping world around him, but everything appeared in order. Still, the eerie feeling of dissonance rattled the crystals of his hair and he gritted his teeth as he strode for the driver’s side of his truck. What is it?

His phone rumbled with a red hawk’s scream, the sound he’d chosen for emergency contact texts. He jerked it out of his pocket and touched the screen.

Snowed in bad. Whiteout conditions w/hikers on the slopes. Miss you and love you. Lily.

Zach’s stomach flipped over and dropped to his boots. He punched her number immediately and listened to it go straight to voicemail. “Dammit, Lily! Where are you?”

He took a deep breath and thought back to where she’d said she worked. Cloudburst Resort in Cloudburst, Colorado. He slid into the driver’s seat and punched the maps icon on his phone. Cloudburst showed in the mountain range in the southwestern corner of the state.

Zach nodded. Too much time between Vegas and Cloudburst if he took his truck, but he needed his gear with him. Gritting his teeth, Zach started the engine and called a buddy of his who played in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

“Snow, my man, what’s up?”

“Cade, I need a favor.” Zach headed down the hill toward the freeway.

“Anything, man. What’s going on?” The mellow voice on the other end sharpened.

“Do you know any Ice Demons in the mountains of southwestern Colorado?”

“Sure. Got a couple of friends there. Why?”

“Can you find out if they’ve got any Spring Flings going on right now? I’m on my way, but I’m still about nine hours out.”

“Whoa, man. Are you moving this direction?”

“Yep, but I gotta get there ASAP. Can you find out and call me when you know?”

“Yeah, sure. Not a problem.” Cade paused. “What’s the big rush, Snow?”

Zach sighed as he hit the turn-off to the 215. How much would Cade understand? “You know I’m in Search and Rescue for the humans, right?”

“Yeah, I’d heard you have a thing for them.” Cade chuckled. “What of it?”

“I got news that some humans are caught in some heavy weather in southwestern Colorado and one of them’s a friend of mine. If I could, I’d be out on the slopes right now. But I can’t enter someone else’s territory without an intro.” Ice Demons tended to be territorial unless visitors went through the proper introductory channels. “Do you think you could have someone meet me in Cloudburst, Colorado as soon as I get there? I gotta get these folks out, Cade. It’s important.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Snow. Just promise me you’ll tell me the full story when you get here.”

“Will do.”

“I’ll text or call you when I got something.”

“Thanks, Cade.” Zach floored the accelerator past the Aliante exit.

“Not a problem. Talk to you soon.” The phone clicked off. Zach dropped it on the seat and slowed down before the cops got too interested in him. He’d have to send texts to Sleet and his folks, but he could do that when he reached a rest stop.
Waiting at the light to get onto I-15, he tapped a quick text to Lily.

Hang in there. I’m coming. Z

He prayed to Freya Lily would receive it. All he had to do was get to Colorado. He just hoped he’d arrive in time.

Excerpt of Cloudburst Ice Magic
Copyright © 2014 Siobhan Muir
All rights reserved

BUY LINKS:

SMASHWORDS | ALL ROMANCE EBOOKS | AMAZON

BIO
Siobhan Muir lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with her husband, two daughters, and a vegetarian cat she swears is a shape-shifter, though he’s never shifted when she can see him. When not writing, she can be found looking down a microscope at fossil fox teeth, pursuing her other love, paleontology. An avid reader of science fiction/fantasy, her husband gave her a paranormal romance for Christmas one year, and she was hooked for good.

In previous lives, Siobhan has been an actor at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, a field geologist in the Aleutian Islands, and restored inter-planetary imagery at the USGS. She’s hiked to the top of Mount St. Helens and to the bottom of Meteor Crater.

Siobhan writes kick-ass adventure with hot sex for men and women to enjoy. She believes in happily ever after, redemption, and communication, all of which you will find in her paranormal romance stories.

Siobhan’s latest release, Cloudburst Ice Magic, is a sequel to Christmas ICE Magic in the Happy Holidays from the Crescent Moon Lodge anthology. She has published A Hell Hound’s Fire (a free read) and The Beltane Witch in the Cloudburst Colorado series. Siobhan has also published Bronco’s Rough Ride and The Navy’s Ghost in the Bad Boys of Beta Squad series, Not a Dragon’s Standard Virgin and Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack through Siren Publishing, and Her Devoted Vampire through Evernight Publishing.

FIND SIOBHAN ON THE INTERNET:
WEBSITE | BLOG | GOOGLE PLUS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | PINTEREST

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Tuesday Treats: Win Books and Fun Stuff!

RWA14 swag Look what I have….(and you can click on the pic to make it bigger…)

Yes, this is a tote bag from RWA 2014 Nationals. With goodies inside. Like a travel cup from Tor. And a pen from Samhain, and some other goodies. Plus books. LOTS of books from:
Charles Martin
Lorraine Heath
Julie Ann Walker
B.J. Daniels
J. Kenner
Maisey Yates
Susanna Kearsley
Kathy Reichs
Stephanie Evanovich

What do you have to do to win? Hrmmm. Let’s see… OH! Since there’s so much hoopla over Outlander, leave a comment and tell me which book or series you’d most like to see on STARZ or HBO or Cinemax or at your local theatre… 🙂 I’ll pick a random winner on Friday and mail the goodies to the lucky draw next week. Please US only because there are a LOT of books!

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Monday – The First Day of the Rest of the Week

Monday again babyYes, it’s Monday again. This darn day just keeps showing up whether I turn the calendar page or not. That said, things are not quite as crazy as they have been the past couple of Mondays. Of course, Mr. HEd may not be liking me so much when he opens his inbox today. Yesterday, I sent off the synopsis and first three chapters of Red Dirt Royalty #3 – FOR THE LOVE OF A COWGIRL, the six page synopsis for RDR#4 – LAST COWGIRL STANDING, blurbs for numbers 5 and 6 – MIDNIGHT COWGIRL and THE COWGIRL WAY, plus a pitch for a new series I can’t quite talk about yet. I will say that I’m loving the characters in LOVE A COWGIRL. Clay, the oldest Barron son and a US Senator, is showing more depth than I thought he’d have at this stage in his story and Georgie Dryfus, his heroine might think she’s the mousy librarian type but she has a wicked sarcastic bent–especially when aimed at herself. I LOVED writing the chapter in her POV.

In other Red Dirt news, I have the typeset copy for COWGIRLS DON’T CRY. This is close to the final stage before it goes to printing. I’m still waiting to reveal the cover copy and I’m so blasted excited I can barely contain it! I. Love. It! I’ve filled out the art sheets for THE COWGIRL’S LITTLE SECRET, book #2 and it’s on track for a spring, 2015 release. Which is a huge YAY!

TV: OMGOMGOMGOMG! I LOVED OUTLANDER! Still not sure if I’ll read the book but I adored the premier and have only one thing to say: It was too short! And I have to wait until next week for the next installment. Okay, that was two things but you get my drift! One other thing, I want the soundtrack. I want Jamie. Or at least the actor who plays him. The scene with the Druids at the standing stones was visually stunning and Claire is made of awesome. Frank? Frank I’m not too sure about yet. (Frank is Claire’s husband in the “modern” timeline–modern in that it’s just after the end of World War II). But I can already declare that Claire belongs with Jamie. *deep feminine sigh* #JamieFraserFan 😆

Reading: I’m still reading contest entries so not at liberty to discuss, though one really caught my eye and I’ll be reviewing it even if it doesn’t win. I also downloaded a book titled KING’S by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff for free and gave up and paid for the second book. I think it’s a trilogy, it’s dark, there’s a trace of magic, King is mysterious, and reviewers have compared it to DARKFEVER by Karen Marie Moning, which I haven’t read it yet. It’s on my Kindle. Just…time–and fear of getting sucked into another series. If you are looking for something offbeat and dark but still with some possible romance, you might check it out.

Writing: This week, barring any unforeseen problems (unlike LAST week!), I plan to get back to work on BLUE MOON, the next Moonstruck book. Yes, I hear the cheering. What are y’all gonna do when I run out of Wolves? With any luck at all, I’ll have BLUE out early in the fall. After that, we’ll just see which set of characters demand the most attention.

And last week? The AC went out at the kids’ house. You do NOT want to be in Oklahoma in August with no AC and a baby. They moved down here for a few days and I ended up babysitting Magic Sprout. He was fussy which put a crimp in my attention span and writing. I’ve forgotten how to “momma multi-task” and type with one hand. 😆 That said, I’m the one who invited them to stay because that’s what families do, right? Exactly! But I was very happy see them go home after dinner last night. 😉

So what about y’all? How was your weekend?

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Friday Sinema – The One That I Want

That’s a great title for a book. Hrmmmm. I bet someone has already used it. Anyway, saw this on the “intrawebz” and thought it was cute, but for the fact the dude was driving. Even so, what a great sense of fun these two have–and very talented hands. Have a great weekend, everyone! See you back here on Monday.

You can thank me for the earworm later. 😉

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Life and the Universe

universe When this popped up in my inbox, I did sort of get a chill–and when you’re my age anything that counteracts the hot flashes is appreciated! 😉 But you know, the Big U is right. Too many (myself included more often than I’d like) worry about what others are going to think or say about us. I bite my tongue instead of lashing out. I stew and rant silently rather than acting the internet troll. In the long run, I–and so many others!–can live with that. But when push comes to shove, this is very true. I’ve got to be me. And you need to be you.

Life is a chance to do things your way, Silver; not the cheapest way, not the most popular way, and not how others think you should.

And a very, very, very precious chance, at that.

Got chills?
The Universe
© http://www.tut.com ®

Keep calm, Silver, and get Notes from the Universe.

All of which puts me in mind of a song. As Frank sang it so poignantly:

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Wednesday Words – Men

weddingcouple largeToday is the 31st anniversary of the day Lawyer Guy and I said “I do.” We haven’t killed each other yet. To celebrate, I thought I’d do some quotes that filled with testosterone and all the wonderful things men are none to do.

LG: Good luck with the reception. You’ll be the belle of the ball.

Me: *snort* Yeah. Right. But thanks. 🙂

LG: Well, you’re the belle of my ball…

Me. ❤ ~ Text messages between Lawyer Guy and me in San Antonio

This is one of many reasons I keep him around!

Now to “true” fiction:

“You can drive.”

When he raised an eyebrow, she said, “I’ve had enough contact with human males to realize you seem to have a congenital inability to function while a female is at the wheel, and I’d rather your full attention be on the case.” ~J-Psy Sophia Russo to human cop, Max Shannon, BONDS OF JUSTICE, Nalini Singh

As he put the key in the lock, the knob turned in his hand without any resistance. His heart beat hard, and his skin went cold evey under the Vegas sun as the door swung open. He locked it every day. Forgetting wasn’t even an option. For someone as superstitious as a goalie, habits were so ingrained they took no thought.

“Hello?”

No answer. Not that he expected one. What was a thief going to say? *”Yeah, I’m in the kitchen making a sandwich. Want one?”* ~Shane Reece, FULL STRENGTH by Katie Kenyhercz

And finally, a little tease from COWGIRL’S SWEETHEART (working title):

“Stop, CJ.”

“Mommy, Daddy’s here. Right here.” He bounced again and would have fallen on Cord if she hadn’t let go of the sheet long enough to grab her son before he landed on his father.

“CJ. Enough. Yes. But be careful. Your dad got hurt.”

The boy quieted immediately, eyes wide as he stared at Cord. “You’s got a boo-boo?”

“I got a couple of boo-boos, bubba.” Cord emerged from beneath the pillow.

“No, Daddy. You didn’t gets boo-boos. You gots big owies.” CJ crept forward on his hands and knees and very gently poked Cord’s face.

“Yeah, you should see the other guys,” Cord muttered under his breath.

Do you have a “man story” to share? And a very happy anniversary to my very own alpha male hero! ❤

*Since I can't use italics in the block quotes, italicized words are set of by * *s 🙂

**And I'll never see that size 3 wedding dress ever again! 😉

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Tuesday Tease – Cowgirls Don’t Cry

I really-REALLY wish I could share my upcoming cover for COWGIRL’S DON’T CRY. It is so completely awesome! However, I don’t have permission yet. That said, the behind-the-scenes “mechanics” continue toward my January 15, 2015 release. That’s like…five months away. And I’ve heard the rumor that the second book (working title of COWGIRL’S SWEETHEART but no official title yet) could be coming in the spring. I spent yesterday afternoon working on blurb, tag line, synopsis, and the Art Fact Sheet for Marketing. Mr. HEd also mentioned that CDC’s typeset proof will be here this week. That means I have to knuckle down to get the proposal on books 3 and 4 done!

So…anyway…here’s some teasing for you. Y’all know this is the image I had for Chance:
cowboy-abs4 The Harlequin Art Department did an amazing job finding a model who resembled this pic. Only with clothes. And a straw hat, but its summer so…

See that’s the thing. The wearing of a cowboy hat follows strict fashion rules like whites shoes, or patent leather. 😉 Yeah, yeah. It’s a southern/southwestern thing. Or thang, depending on your accent. Anway. I’m rambling because I have no real post for today. So…how about a tease from page 77. There’s a meme going around about that but I can’t remember anything but lines from page 77. 🙄

This little excerpt starts in Chance’s POV and then shifts to Cassidy’s. He’s just come out to the ranch to pick her up for their first “official” date.

This was the first time he’d seen her wearing anything remotely feminine—besides those killer boots in Chicago. The skirt she wore hugged her hips and left her long legs in plain sight. A lacy turquoise tank left just enough of the rest her to the imagination. He swallowed. Hard. Ignoring Boots, he stepped toward her.

“Wow.” She smiled and he gulped again. “You look terrific.”

Her cheeks pinkened and she dropped her gaze. When she looked up, her eyes twinkled and crinkled at the corners. “Happy to see you, too, cowboy.”
*
He was so busted. She laughed at the expression on his face when he figured out what she meant. He *was* happy to see her. And she was happy to see him. She couldn’t remember the last time a guy turned her on like Chance. Her breasts swelled as she inhaled. Just thinking about the kiss they’d shared had her all but panting. She cut her eyes to look at him and noticed his gaze dropped to her chest. She cleared her throat and his head jerked up, his expression guilty as he met her eyes. She bit back a laugh. Busted again, but she didn’t mind.

Happy Tuesday. I’m doing eye specialist with The Only, then babysitting Magic Bean Sprout for the day while Baseball Boy does a job interview and then update training with the library. Hopefully, I’ll get some actual work done. Or not. 😉

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First Monday

funny-dog-pictures-not-ready-for-mondayI’ve been home from RWA for a week and I still feel like I’m playing catch-up. The last of mail-outs for NRCA certificates and trophies that weren’t picked up go out today. I still need to email the winners with their winners’ buttons.

It’s August. How is that even possible? School starts…like now…or over the next few weeks for almost everyone. This past weekend was Oklahoma’s Tax-Free Back-To-School Buy-Stuff weekend. I stayed away. 😆 I hate crowds even more than I love office supplies. Besides, I’m pretty stocked up with stuff at the moment.

Lawyer Guy and I took Only and Magic Bean Sprout out for lunch Saturday. I’d been up since early and pushed through more of chapter 1 for COWGIRL TOUGH, the working title for Red Dirt Royalty #3. As the first Saturday of the month, it was also siren test day so I went with LG to his “post” (he’s a member of a HAM radio group) and then we met TO and MBS. Baseball Boy works Saturdays at the library. I finished up chapter one when we got home and then took a four-hour nap. Crazy! I NEVER nap that long. It was 8:30 before I woke up and surprisingly, I was asleep by midnight. THAT doesn’t happen either. Just goes to show how tired I was. 😆

Yesterday, I finished Chapter 2 and got an idea for the beginning of Chapter 3. I hope to knock the whole chapter out today after I get back from errands. Then I just have to write a 4-6 page synopsis, a 4-6 synopsis of Chase’s book (he finds a *real* cowgirl in his bed. shifty-eyes-ani2faster Then I get to figure out Cash’s book and Kaden’s and decide which one I want to be the last of the Barron brothers. There are “Barron” cousins (last name Tate) so if the series is popular, there will be more to come. I hope to have that all knocked out this week. Uhm…yeah. I know I said my goal was to have it done last week but that’s before Clay turned into a complete PITA. My virtual trashcan was overflowing with the starts and stops to Chapter 1. I finally found the right place–and tone–to start to make him happy. Georgie, his heroine, is much easier to deal with.

I still hope to get on BLUE MOON soon. Antoine and his heroine, US Deputy Marshal DJ Collier, are both chaffing at the bit. My bikers are arguing over their origins so I’m letting them settle things. Yes, my mind is a very busy place. Scarily so. 😉

Some of you are headed to Authors After Dark this week. Have fun! And speaking of fun, who had some this weekend? What’s up with y’all? Who has fun plans for this week? Who has to work? *raises hand* … *wanders off to get more coffee*

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Cover Reveal: Cloudburst Ice Magic by Siobhan Muir

CBIM-600x1000 Cover What better time to think chilly thoughts than in the heat of summer. I’m excited to preview the cover and blurb of my good friend, Siobhan Muir’s upcoming release, CLOUDBURST ICE MAGIC. I was honored to beta read this book and it’s a fun one!

Release Date: August 11 2014

BLURB
Avalanches may bring down more than snow…

Working for the Search and Rescue team at the Cloudburst Resort in Colorado, Lily Sinclair figures she’ll do all the rescuing from now on. When hikers are caught in a spring blizzard, Lily and her partner head into the storm. Cut off from communication and facing deadly conditions, Lily fears she’ll never see her Ice Demon lover before death claims them.

Zach Snow encouraged Lily move to Cloudburst to grow and learn, but missed her every day of their months apart. His plans of moving to Colorado get pushed up when he receives her text explaining her situation, and saying goodbye. He must negotiate with the local Ice Demon clan to work in their territory to rescue Lily and the hikers before the Spring Fling blizzard kills them. But he’s running out of time.

Between the amorous hiker hitting on Zach, Lily’s self-doubts, and an avalanche bearing down on them, Zach and Lily must rediscover the love they first kindled in a Christmas ice cave, and create their own Cloudburst ice magic.

BIO
Siobhan Muir lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with her husband, two daughters, and a vegetarian cat she swears is a shape-shifter, though he’s never shifted when she can see him. When not writing, she can be found looking down a microscope at fossil fox teeth, pursuing her other love, paleontology. An avid reader of science fiction/fantasy, her husband gave her a paranormal romance for Christmas one year, and she was hooked for good.

In previous lives, Siobhan has been an actor at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, a field geologist in the Aleutian Islands, and restored inter-planetary imagery at the USGS. She’s hiked to the top of Mount St. Helens and to the bottom of Meteor Crater.

Siobhan writes kick-ass adventure with hot sex for men and women to enjoy. She believes in happily ever after, redemption, and communication, all of which you will find in her paranormal romance stories.

Siobhan’s upcoming release, Cloudburst Ice Magic, is a sequel to Christmas ICE Magic in the Happy Holidays from the Crescent Moon Lodge anthology. She has published A Hell Hound’s Fire (a free read) and The Beltane Witch in the Cloudburst Colorado series. Siobhan has also published Bronco’s Rough Ride and The Navy’s Ghost in the Bad Boys of Beta Squad series, Not a Dragon’s Standard Virgin and Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack through Siren Publishing, and Her Devoted Vampire through Evernight Publishing.

You can find Siobhan on the internet here:
WEBSITE | BLOG | GOOGLE PLUS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS | PINTEREST

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Friday Sinema – Outlander Style

I’m sort of ashamed to admit that I’ve never read OUTLANDER. I have it on my Kindle but never got around to reading it. Yeah, yeah. I know. I suck as a romance reader. 😆 I am, however, looking forward to STARZ premier of the series coming August 9th. To tease you, here’s a couple of trailers. I should also mention that Jamie is a new TVBF. *swoon*

Official Trailer:

The Disappearance:

And finally, director and stars commentary:

I will have popcorn. And Diet Coke. And I will be watching! How about you? Have a great weekend, everyone.

*psssst* I have an Outlander poster to give away. Stand by it, books, and other goodies coming soon.

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