Giveaways Galore!

Today's the day! I'm celebrating the release of the first two books in The Witches of Freedom Moon series, HIDDEN MAGIC and KILLER MAGIC! Win books by some of my favorite authors - Katie Reus, Kaylea Cross, Katherine Garbera, Cynthia Eden, Naima Simone, Maureen A. Miller, B.J. Daniels, Kc Burn, Dalton Diaz, Lori Sjoberg, Nancy Robards Thompson, Zoe Archer, Saranna DeWylde & Toni Anderson! 
Can't wait to see you there! Friday, November 1 from 2-6 pm, EST

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop!

There are the books everyone has heard about: Twilight, Hunger Games, Fifty Shades of Gray. But what about all those books written by people you’ve never heard of? Some of them are treasures, just waiting to be found, and that’s what this blog hop is all about: the books you might not have heard about, but that you might end up loving.

This blog hop is like a game of tag. One author posts and tags five other authors who link back to their website the next week and tag five new authors. If you follow the blog hop long enough, you’re bound to find some books you’ll love! Maybe you’ll even discover a book that ends up being the next big thing.

I was tagged by Elizabeth Schechter. You can learn more about her books on her blog!

This blog hop includes ten questions to help you learn more about an author’s current work in progress, so here’s a little info about my current project:

1: What is the working title of your book?

My current work in progress is titled Killer Magic.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

This is book 2 in a three-book series. It centers on a woman accused of several arsons in a community of witches and psychics. I’ve been studying about witches and all things occult for several years now and since I enjoy series about friends, I decided to write mine about the witches in a particular coven.

3: What genre does your book fall under?

You mean I can only choose one? Sorry - can’t! Paranormal romance, erotic romance and romantic suspense.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Hugh Jackman would play the sexy fireman and Haley Berry would play the witch.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

One sentence? Yikes! A beautiful psychic is accused of setting fires in a village of witches, but when she goes after the real culprit, she must rely on the help of a sexy fireman to keep her from being the next victim.

6: Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

The first book is currently being considered by a publisher and I am hoping they will contract the series.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It’s still in the writing stage, but on average, I write a book every four months - three of those months are spent on the first draft.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ve never read any books about real witches - those practicing the modern witchcraft so it’s hard to make any comparisons.

9: Who or What inspired you to write this book?

I went to a store in my hometown a couple years ago to buy incense. The place is an occult shop with all sorts of herbs and candles and books. In the back they do psychic readings and I decided to get one. When I checked out their website I found that they offered classes on introduction to Wicca. The teacher, a very young woman who knows a lot about all things occult, inspirited me to write this series.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I think the series will be fresh and original because I am basing it on modern day witches, a growing religion. Although I have ramped up the magic, the spells are real in their execution.

Blog Hop

Have you ever stumbled upon a new-to-you author by reading a blog post or following a link on Facebook? Well I have - in fact, more than once. So I decided to join in a blog hop in hopes of finding some as well as being found by readers.

So please check back next week for my interview. I was tagged by Elizabeth Schechter, a self-described pervy fetish writer!

Promo Goodness - Swag Bag

I have  new release today! Spirited Seduction is now available from Ellora's Cave.

To celebrate the occasion I am giving away a custom tote bag filled with swag - promotional items like pens and bookmarks. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is Like my Facebook fan page and leave a comment either here or on the post about this event on the Facebook page.

Not only will that get you the Swag Bag (US addresses only) but you will also win a free download of Spirited Seduction.

Here's a little about the book:

Spirited Seduction

Wynter Daniels

Ryan’s fantasies are taking a decidedly dangerous turn. He can’t keep himself from imagining making love to his sister’s friend Emily. But his sister was murdered and he fears Emily will be too unless he can catch the culprit.

Emily shuns her psychic abilities after she became the target of a killer while working with the police on a missing-persons investigation. But she can’t deny Ryan her help finding Emily’s killer after she learns about the cryptic warning that could cost her life.

Despite their differences, passion sizzles between them until sinister, unseen forces threaten to destroy them.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

And here is an excerpt:

An Excerpt From: SPIRITED SEDUCTION

Copyright © WYNTER DANIELS, 2013

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.

Emily got up from her nail table and strode to the front desk to check on her next client, the last of the day. She glanced at the appointment book and blinked at the name written there. Her mouth went dry. Could it really be…?

Stay calm.

She swung around to search the waiting area for him and tried to school the fear from her expression when her gaze landed on Ryan Barnes, still as devastatingly handsome as ever.

Questions raced through her mind in a millisecond. What did he want? How did he find her? Did he know how badly she’d crushed on him years ago? Why had she left the house without putting on any makeup that morning? Why did she still find him so damn attractive even after he’d humiliated her in front of all his sister’s friends?

“Hey,” he said from a seat by the window. He closed the distance between them and pulled her into a stiff hug.

She shut her eyes a moment, attempting to banish her body’s response to him—the heat at every point of contact, the almost dizzy feeling in her head and the pounding of her heart.

For God’s sake, he’s just a guy, a guy who didn’t treat me very well.

She didn’t have a lot of male clients but it wasn’t as if she never had contact with any men.

“It’s been forever,” she said, trying to keep her tone light. “Well, I guess we saw each other at the funeral but…” She tamped down the sadness at the memory of her friend’s death. “How are you?”

Why are you here?

He was so tall, over six feet with the same sandy-brown hair and crystal-blue eyes as Becky. He looked a few months past due for a haircut and the stubble on his cheeks told her he hadn’t shaved for a couple days. His face wasn’t perfect—far from it—but she still found him way too handsome. He had an inch-long scar over his left eye and his nose looked as if it had been broken at least once. Hadn’t Becky told her he’d had a few injuries from the martial arts tournaments he’d competed in as a teenager?

Pressed to his hard body, she drew in a breath laced with his scent, like a pine forest. She quickly extricated herself, remembering that they were in the middle of the salon.

“I’m okay. What about you?” He skimmed his gaze over her, lingered at her breasts.

Red-hot awareness rushed through her. She closed her arms over her chest and steadied herself. She sensed tension in his face based on the lines fanning out from his pale eyes and the taut set of his mouth. “I’m fine, great. So you really want a manicure, huh? I never figured you for the type.”

Definitely not the type. She guessed his hands were rough as his boots, as well-used as the jeans he wore. What would those hands feel like on her body? The thought sent a shiver of excitement rolling over her skin.

Ridiculous.

“I’d be happy to put you in with one of the other nail techs if you prefer.” She hoped he’d refuse her offer.

He shook his head. “I want you.”

Clearly he was only referring to his manicure but his simple declaration stirred wickedly erotic thoughts. Her nipples hardened to painful points. Moisture slicked her panties.

Why she was attracted to a man she disliked, a man who obviously couldn’t stand her, was a mystery to her. Yet she couldn’t pretend the attraction didn’t exist. She recalled their interaction two years ago at a birthday celebration for Becky. He’d actually called her a charlatan to her face, in front of the thirty-odd party guests.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, yanking her back to the present.

She clenched her jaw and forced herself to concentrate. “Why didn’t you just call me? Why go to the trouble to make a manicure appointment?”

His sheepish shrug fanned the flames of her attraction. “I didn’t think you’d agree to speak to me after…you know, what I’d said to you.”

She squared her shoulders. “I spoke to you at Becky’s funeral and as far as I can remember, I didn’t bite your head off, did I?”

“Yeah, but that was a funeral. You’re not that cruel, are you?” He gave her a wink and another unwanted jolt of heat coursed through her.

His teasing dissipated some of the tension and she managed to smile. “C’mon back.”

He shrugged out of a faded leather jacket and hung it over the hook near the door, giving her a view of the vee from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist. She had to admit he had a certain muscular, rugged appeal. And his kind of muscle was built through hard physical labor rather than in a gym.

If she remembered correctly, he restored old houses himself then flipped them, did all the upgrades and repairs himself. She pictured him shirtless, sawing a two-by-four, as she’d seen him once working on something at Becky’s house, his well-developed biceps and triceps flexing with each stroke. Her face flushed and the room grew warmer, but she forced herself to squash the memory.

He walked with her to her nail table, looking totally out of place in the pink-and-white salon in his jeans and the T-shirt that hugged every sinewy inch of his chiseled upper body. “I wanted to talk to you and a phone call wouldn’t cut it.”

She swallowed hard and curled her fingers over the edge of the table. “Is this about Becky? Did they find out who did it?”

The furrow in his brow deepened as he sat across from her. “No, but it is about her. You know I’ve never been a believer in all that supernatural junk like you…and Becky.”

She stiffened at his characterization and felt a headache start behind her eyes. Her gift had only brought her fear and grief.

“But something happened last night to change my mind about all that.” He glanced side to side then lowered his voice. “I saw her, or her ghost, I guess. Scared the shit out of me. She disappeared so fast I couldn’t ask her anything like why she was there, or…”

“Or who killed her.” A chill crawled up her spine.

What Would You Do?

So I find myself at a crossroad. I have several projects in various stated of completion. There's a contemporary that's about 40% done that's calling to me. I have another contemporary that's at about 20% that I am really liking. Then there's book #2 in my witch series, which is also about 20% complete but I kind of want to get that one out soonest because the first one is already out. Problem is if I finish that one first, I really ought to start plotting out book #3, yet there are the others to finish as well as three or four new ideas tickling my fancy.

So I want to know - what would you do? How do you choose between projects when the choice is completely your?

Confessions of a Downton Abbey Addict

My name is Wynter and I am an addict. My drugs of choice aren't substances or pornography or gambling. I am hooked on Mary, Matthew, Edith, Cora, Mr. and Mrs. Bates, Daisy and the like.

Thankfully, my addiction isn't a harmful thing except that I have turned down a few Sunday evening social invitations in order to stay home and indulge! But it's okay because the show has so much going for it, I don't mind occasionally forgoing live human contact in order to watch.

Besides, I think Downton's success has had some very positive effects on the viewing public. First of all, it's gotten a whole lot of folks watching who've never given public broadcasting a second glance. Yay for that!

The show has risen above the Honey Booboo-esque reality shows that are contributing to the dumbing down of the US. Hopefully Downton Abbey will set a trend -- a raising of the bar of the caliber of television programming.

I know I am not alone in my addiction because the show's market share is high. So step up and admit it. Are you addicted?

Giving In

My trip to the eye doctor last week was eye-opening. Literally! I had to face the fact that I am getting older. Yup - reading glasses. Now I've worn contacts for years - since my college days. And several years ago my friends started taking out cute little pairs of readers at dimly-lit restaurants to read the menus. I'd compliment the glasses and mention that I still didn't need reading glasses.

Well, those days are over. Now I am the one who has bought half a dozen pairs of Foster Grants and stashed them around my house so I can read a recipe or a paperback or a bill.

It's time to face it - I must give in to this damn aging thing. At least now I can read the instructions on how to do it!