L. Ann's Blog

Out just in time for Halloween.

Return to Churchill Bradley Academy and discover what ghosts are lurking in its dark hallways!

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I don't often write blog posts. You know it. I know it. But this needs to be said.

You might have seen me mention the Good Vibes anthology in your travels - especially if you follow me on my other social media accounts. But I haven't mentioned it here so I feel like I need to rectify that!

Good Vibes is the brainchild of Lasairiona McMaster. She wanted to break the stigma of women enjoying sex. In fact, not only enjoying sex but using sex toys to get off. We all know it's a thing, and it's frowned upon by many. The foreword she wrote in the antho rocks and will resonate with so many women.

The stories inside this book are outstanding. Every author involved in this project brought the A-Game .. or is that their V-game? ... to the table and the result is thirteen exceptional short stories to tease and tantalise. Every single one comes with a HEA - there are no cliffhangers, no samples. These are full stories.

Some involve characters from existing stories from the authors, some are brand new characters, (*hint* I have two - one is Gabe and Harper short, the other brings Marley Stone to everyone's attention) but all, without question, are fantastic. They're sexy, steamy and, at times, laugh out loud funny.

Trust me, you need to get your preorder game on for this book. And wait until you see the paperbacks. You're gonna want this baby on your bookcase!

Add it to your GoodReads TBR pile now - Good Vibes and, if you wouldn't mind, give us a vote in the August Most Anticipated list - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

I sent my newsletter out last night - are you signed up to that? You get a free book, if you do. You can find the sign up details here - Newsletter.

In my latest newsletter, I offered a sample of the audiobook for Tattooed Memories - the entire first chapter, in fact. And once you listen to Thomas (the narrator) you're going to be thirsting for more!

The audio is currently going through Quality Control and I'm hoping it'll be available in the next couple of weeks but, in the meantime, would you like to have a listen?

Click on over to this link then, and grab yourself the first chapter! Tattooed Memories Audio Sample

Thomas has also kindly agreed to do a Q&A - answering questions about his narration, the book, and anything else you might want to throw at him. If you'd like to submit a question, you can email it to me at [email protected]

It's been a week since I released Tattooed Memories, and what a week it's been!

I want to thank everyone who has downloaded it, read it, reviewed it, and reached out to me to tell me what they loved, how much Gabe infuriated them, who they want to see next and how much they are traumatised by strawberries.

For those who have been readers of me for a while, you know this was my first foray into contemporary romance and you probably also know just how much this book means to me. Music, rock music especially, has had a huge influence in my life, and I bled my soul onto the pages of this one.

Thanks for sticking around while I wrote it and, those of you who usually stay in the PNR genre, thank you so much for stepping outside of your zone and embracing my broken rock star as he fought to get back the love of his life.

Onwards and upwards. You can add the next book to your GR TBR list here - Shattered Expectations

And if you haven't read Tattooed Memories yet, you can find it here - Tattooed Memories

Midnight Fury is out today, bring the events from Midnight Hunt to its conclusion.

Jaden's book - those of you who are following the series will be happy to hear - doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Yay, right :D

For those of you who are thinking about starting my Midnight Pack series - be aware that there are scenes and situations that may be triggering to some.

Thank you all for your continued support! :)

Wolves. I love wolves. I always have, and yet when I first started writing PNR, vampires were the direction I went in. I just never felt like wolf shifters were a thing I'd want to write about. And then something happened...

I started writing a rockstar romance and my twisted sister - another fantastic author, Emma Jayne Mills - pointed out that my lead rock god was a wolf. And it was just so obvious! It was there in the words. He was not human, he was a shifter!

A new story was born in that moment, taking it away from a rockstar romance and delving into the darkness of a new shifter world.

Midnight Touch is released on 4th December and I'm overwhelmed by the early reviews it has had from ARC readers.

I can't wait for everyone to meet my Midnight Pack wolves.

It’s Tuesday … you know what that means, don’t you? It’s time to tease you with something cooking in our WIP. As always, this is a draft, unedited and prone to change or even removal from the final release.

Let’s see what you make of this!

Morgan took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the restaurant.

You can do this!

She stepped inside and paused to scan the dimly lit room.

There! She spotted David as he half-rose to his feet to catch her attention and Morgan headed over to his table.

“You came!” David smiled, stood and moved around to pull out the chair for her. “I wasn’t sure you would.”

“I wasn’t sure, either,” Morgan admitted, and settled onto the seat. She forced herself not to tense while he was behind her or glance over her shoulder to check his location.

“You look beautiful,” he told her as he returned to his own seat.

“Thank you.” The compliment eased her tension a little. She had made an effort, picking out clothes she wouldn’t normally wear – a red dress that moulded itself to her body like a second skin, spaghetti straps leaving her arms bare, and the hem ending at mid thigh. She’s paired the dress with a pair of heeled shoes in a matching colour. Her hair was down, out of its customary pony-tail, falling almost to her waist, inky black and straight. She’d taken time over her make-up – something she rarely did  — and a matching set of platinum earrings, bangles and necklace finished the look. “You look very nice, too.” She tried to put as much warmth into the words as she could.

He did look good. An expensive suit covered a well-maintained physique. His dark hair was cut short, he was clean-shaven and she could smell the cologne he was wearing. A nice subtle blend that didn’t have her eyes tearing up.

She picked up the menu and studied it. “Have you decided what you want?” she asked him.

“I have. Shall I order for both of us?”

Morgan resisted the urge to tell him she could pick her own food, and nodded. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

David ordered food – Morgan didn’t hear what — and a bottle of wine and they sat in awkward silence.

“You’re uncomfortable.” David finally spoke up, and Morgan lifted her eyes to look at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to … doing this.”

“This? Having dinner?”

“I don’t really socialise all that much.” She cast her eyes around the restaurant and froze, her gaze landing on the back of a dark-blonde head. “I – I’m just going to Ladies Room to freshen up before our food arrives,” she said, and rose to her feet abruptly.

Inside the bathroom, Morgan checked to make sure no one else was in there then leaned against the countertop. Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep breath.

“You can do this,” she told herself. “You can have dinner, be good company and act normal.”

“No, you can’t.” The unexpected response coincided with two hands landing on her hips. Eyes flying open, they collided with the reflection of piercing blue ones.

“Taz!” His name left her lips in a shocked whisper.

“What are you doing, Anna?” He stepped closer, the hands on her hips tightening their hold.

Morgan could feel the warmth radiating from his body down her back and her own body responded to his closeness immediately. Heat pooled between her thighs, her nipples beaded and her breathing quickened.

She saw Taz smile in the mirror and his head lowered, eyes never wavering from hers. He placed a kiss on her throat, right over her racing pulse.

“What are you doing Anna?” he repeated his question, softly. “I’ve given you space, given you time. You need to come home.”

“I can’t go home.” Morgan’s voice was little more than a whisper.

“Why not?” She could feel the roughness of his stubble against her skin as he kissed his way up her throat.

She let her eyes slide closed and sighed. “Because you’re not there.”

Taz didn’t reply, and between one breath and the next she felt the warmth of him disappear. Opening her eyes, she found herself alone in the bathroom.

“You’re going crazy,” she whispered to her reflection in the mirror.

Well now.… I see this one raising some questions, don’t you?

The post Teaser Tuesday appeared first on Draft Edit Publish.

If you liked the cover of my book, Blood Carousel (A Dark Legacy Book 2), please vote for it for the Cover of the Month contest on AllAuthor.com!

Click to Vote!

The post Cover of the month contest — I need your votes! appeared first on Draft Edit Publish.

Shaun

I purposely arrive an hour late to the bar. Arriving dead on eight would have given the wrong impression – that I was interested, even eager, to spend time with Cassie. The last thing I need right now is an emotional entanglement. That’s not why I’m here.

Problem is I’m not sure whether the wrong impression would have been given to Cassie or to myself. Cassie is cute, she makes me laugh, and the afternoon I’d spent with her helped me forget the reasons I’d left the city, for a little while anyway.

But here I am – outside The Corner Pin, just before nine. From the noise spilling out through the door, karaoke night is in full swing. I wince as a female voice aims for a particularly high note and fails miserably, then push the door open and enter.

A quick scan of the dim interior and I locate Cassie sitting near the bar with her sister and I head over to them. As I get close, I see Cassie look toward the other end of the bar and there’s a fleeting expression on her face that suggests she’s upset. I follow the direction of her gaze and see her ex and her roommate standing close together.

I take the final step needed to bring me close to her and stoop slightly to whisper. “Staring is only going to make him think you’ll take him back.”

Her head snaps around so fast, I’m surprised she doesn’t get whiplash. I lean past her, catch the bartender’s attention and order two bottles of beer, then take a long drink.

I don’t know why I let her put my name down for a karaoke song. I could say it was because of the look in her eyes whenever she caught sight of her ex. I do know it’s a stupid thing to do when I’m supposed to be cruising under the radar, but the enjoyment she gets out of picking out a song then refusing to tell me what it is amuses me.

When my name is called and I find out what she’s picked, I can’t hide my grin. Especially when I spot the battered piano just to the right of the stage. I know she’s expecting me to fail, and if I let the song play through the karaoke machine it would hide most of the problems a less-talented singer would have with it. But I have a good voice. Actually, I have a great voice and, no that’s not me being overly arrogant. It’s the simple truth.

People look at me and see the tattoos and long hair. Then they hear I’m the vocalist of a rock band and they make assumptions. The most popular one being that I cannot sing. I like proving people wrong.

I jump off the stage and grab Cassie’s hand to drag her across to the piano with me. She’s looking at me like I’m crazy and I am looking forward to seeing that look change.

If she had any clue who I was, if she recognised me, there’s no way in hell she’d be expecting this to go as badly as her face suggests.

I fiddle with the mic, positioning it on top of the piano so that it will pick up both my voice and the piano, then hit a few of the keys. Then I start to play. I throw Cassie one final smile and open my mouth to sing.

The familiar buzz of performing before an audience embraces me like an old friend. The feeling of satisfaction as people stop what they’re doing and take notice. When faces turn to watch, their drinks and games forgotten as the music washes over them.

I fall into the role of entertainer, my fingers finding the keys while my voice takes the crowd on a journey through the song. When I hit the final note and the piano is silenced, I turn my head to look at Cassie.

She’s staring at me, her eyes wide with genuine surprise, her lips parted and I just can’t help myself. I lift a hand, meaning to brush a finger against her cheek but find myself cupping her face instead and stealing a kiss.

I feel her hand land on my leg, just above my knee, but she doesn’t pull her lips from mine. I take that as a green light and deepen the kiss, my tongue swiping across her bottom lip once, twice until she opens wide enough to let me in. I can taste the beer she’s been drinking, but beneath that there’s a sweeter flavour. It reminds me of strawberries, both sweet and tart. A little like the woman herself. The woman whose fingers are currently digging into my thigh, kneading and flexing as our kiss continued.

I was considering scooping her up and taking her somewhere private when a voice intruded.

“You’re Shaun Jacobs, aren’t you? What are you doing here in Greene Valley?”

Cassie stiffens and I sigh against her lips before lifting my head to find the person who spoke. I rest my hand on top of Cassie’s, effectively stopping her from removing it, while I answer the question.

“I’m on vacation.”

“Wait!” Cassie’s sister pushes her way toward us. “I knew you looked familiar! Don’t you remember, Cass?” She turns her attention to Cassie. “He was all over the news a few months back.”

I should have expected someone to recognise me, but it doesn’t stop the sharp disappointment I feel when  Cassie pulls her hand free and stands up. I probably shouldn’t have got up to sing, I acknowledge to myself. It was never going to end well.

Cassie is rubbing her bottom lip with the tip of a finger and, now that I know what she tastes like, I can’t help but want to replace her finger with my mouth again. She’s staring at me, eyes narrowed as she processes what her sister is telling her.

I say nothing, sitting still on the piano’s bench. I idly tap out a tune while the crowd argues around me over my identity. This kind of attention I’m used to, I can tune it out easily enough. My attention appears to be focused on the piano, but I’m aware of every move Cassie is making beside me. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I know the moment she comes to a decision and tip my head back to look at her.

“Is it true?” she asks me.

I ignore the feeling of regret at her question and pull the role of the Shaun Jacobs Rockstar around me. “Which part?”

“Any of it.” I’m still picking out a tune and she settles back beside me on the bench.  “Shaun?”

“I’m definitely Shaun Jacobs and I’m vacationing in Greene Valley,” I throw her a cool smile. “And yes, I have been in the news.” I pause, pursing my lips. “I’m in the news a lot, actually. Probably more than I should be.”

She bites her bottom lip and the action makes me want to bite it, which angers me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I stop playing and arch a brow, needing to get control of the sudden desire I have for her. “Why would I? You broke into my home, remember. I assumed you knew exactly who I was.”

“Is that why you kissed me?” Her fingers are toying with her lip again and I push myself to my feet before I’m tempted to kiss her again.

“No, Goldilocks,” I tell her. “I kissed you because I’m the big bad wolf and you needed a warning to stay out of the woods.” I stalk toward the doors, but her voice stops me.

“Goldilocks was in the Three Bears. The big bad wolf was in Red Riding Hood.”

I swing back to face her, and I’m unsure whether I should laugh or say something cutting. The expression on her face keeps me silent, though, and I turn back to leave.

“I might buy a red cloak for the next time I feel like walking in the woods.”

Her final words follow me as I walk out of the door.

© 2018
No part of this may be copied without prior permission from the author. 

The post Midnight Touch — Part Nine appeared first on Draft Edit Publish.

Apologies for there being no episode posted on Wednesday — to make up for that, there will be two posted today. One now and the second a little later this evening.  Without further ado… let’s continue on!

Cassie

It’s almost nine. The karaoke started an hour ago. I’m sitting near the bar with my sister, nursing a bottle of beer and wondering if he’ll show up. The last three days have been exhausting. Sam keeps ringing me at all hours, demanding I listen to his side of the story. Rebekah, my roommate, has turned up at Andi’s house twice, begging to see me. I’m just not ready to hear from either of them, but neither will listen when I ask them to give me time, space to think.

It had been Andi’s suggestion to come out tonight and I’d used that excuse as a reason to head back to the Lodge, to see Shaun again. We had only spent a couple of hours together, but there was something about him, something that calmed my frazzled nerves. He’d been kind to me, a stranger who had turned up in his home. Instead of demanding I leave, he’d realised I needed a distraction and had offered his time.

My eyes shift to the door again. Did he agree to come just to get me out of his home?

“Cassie,” Andi nudges me and nods toward the other end of the bar.

Sam is standing there with Rebekah, their heads close together as they talk. Sam looks angry and Rebekah is standing stiffly beside him, clearly unhappy. I shouldn’t care, but I do.

“Staring is only going to make him think you’ll take him back.” The voice, close to my ear, is deep, husky and definitely amused. I twist my head around and come face to face with Shaun.

He’s leaning forward, his face level with mine. He’s so close, I can feel his breath on my cheek and smell his cologne – which, I have to admit, is very nice. Not too strong or overpowering – an interesting blend that makes me want to shift closer.

He catches the bartender’s attention and points at my bottle, then raises two fingers in some kind of universal bar sign-language that I can never make work. Two bottles of beer arrive shortly after and Shaun pays.

He sits on the stool next to me and twists around so he’s facing me. His fingers curl around the bottle of beer and he takes a long drink. I can’t help but watch his throat move as he swallows and I lick suddenly dry lips.

“What song did you put your name down for?” he asks, as he places the bottle back on the bar.

“Me? Oh hell no, I don’t sing. I just come to laugh at everyone else.”

Shaun laughs. “One of the cruel types who sits in the corner and mocks everyone around them, are you?”

I pretend to consider his description, then nod. “That’s exactly right.”

“Will you make fun of me if I get up and sing?”

“Can you sing?” He looks surprised by my question, almost like I should know the answer to that already, then the expression has gone and his easy smile is back.

“I can hold a note,” he replies, takes another pull of beer then nods toward the stage. “Want to pick a song for me?”

“Anything I want?”

He shrugs. “Sure.”

I don’t give him a chance to reconsider. I hop down from the stool and almost run over to the stage and start flicking through the song list. At first, I think about picking something silly, one that would be embarrassing to sing, but the longer I stand looking the more I think about how good he’d been to me, so I look for something I think he might be able to sing. My eyes fall upon a song and I smile and write his name next to it.

His eyebrow quirks up when I return to the bar. “Find one?”

I nod.

“Should I worry?”

“That depends on if you can sing like you claim.”

He snorts a laugh and takes another drink. “Why did you invite me tonight?” I watch as he leans back against the bar, his elbows resting on the bartop and his bottle held loosely between fingertips.

Why did I invite him? It’s a fair question and, in truth, I don’t really have a good answer for it. I take a drink from my own bottle.

“Nothing? No answer? Not even a lie?” he says, when I don’t reply. “Did you hope it’d make Sam over there jealous?”

I choke on my beer. That hadn’t even crossed my mind. “No!” I gasp out. “I just thought … I thought maybe … Look, I don’t know! It just seemed like a good idea, okay?”

He gazes at me for a long silent minute, eyes assessing. He straightens suddenly. “You should, you know.”

“Should what?” It’s hard to keep up with his rapid topic changes.

“Prove to him what he’s done doesn’t matter. He keeps looking over here, you know. Probably wondering who I am and why I’m talking to you.” His smile is the only warning I get before he’s reaching over to grab my hand and pull me off my stool to stand between his legs.

I look at him quizzically. I can feel his thumb rubbing across the sensitive skin of my inner wrist and I can’t contain a shiver. His smile widens and he tugs my hand again until I’m closer, almost pressed against his chest.

His head moves forward until his mouth is mere centimetres from mine. Is he going to kiss me? I can feel my heartbeat speeding up at the thought.

“What song did you pick for me?” he whispers, and I blink, surprised by the question.

I’m saved from replying by the guy in charge of the karaoke calling out Shaun’s name. He still has hold of my hand as he rises to his feet, bringing him flush against me.

He tips his head down and I find myself holding my breath as his face comes closer.

“Guess I’m about to find out.” He murmurs and walks toward the stage.

I follow him and stand in front of the stage as he looks to see what song I’ve picked. A smile pulls his lips up and he approaches the mic, lifting it up and fiddling with its placement, then looks directly at me and winks.

“I don’t need the music playing for this one,” he says to the guy in charge of the machine. “I’ll take the mic over to the piano there.” He disconnects the mic from the stand and strides over to the old battered piano in the corner, catching my hand and pulling me along with him as he goes.

“Sit next to me,” he invites and pats the long bench seat, waits for me to settle then places the mic on top of the piano and rests his fingers on the keys.  “Ready?” he asks me.

I nod and he starts to play the opening to This is Gospel by Panic! At The Disco, leans forward and starts to sing.

My jaw drops and after no more than a few lines, the bar has fallen silent. Everyone stops what they’re doing – talking, playing pool, darts, drinking – and turns toward where he and I sit at the piano.

His voice … oh my god … his voice!

As smooth as caramel, it soars through the notes effortlessly. The atmosphere in the bar has changed from amused resignation as people wail through various songs to an electric anticipation as he pauses between verses, then launches into the chorus a final time.

As the sounds of the piano fade into silence, nobody moves. Everyone is frozen in place, staring at him and that’s when he surprises me again.

He turns slightly on the seat, lifts a hand to cup the side of my face and covers my lips with his.

For anyone curious — this is the song Shaun is singing.

Read Part Nine

© 2018
No part of this may be copied without prior permission from the author. 

The post Midnight Touch — Part Eight appeared first on Draft Edit Publish.