Feel the Love...

Thank You to everyone who stopped by during the Follower Love Hop and thank you for helping me support the Read For The Heart campaign, the Penguin Group and the American Heart Association's fight against Heart Disease.

Heart Disease is the #1 killer of women in the United States. I take great pleasure in supporting such a great cause! Without further delay the winners are...

Cricket, Martina Koleva, Juana, Anita Yancey, Spav, and Sharon K.

The winner's have until Sunday the 19th to contact me here and claim their prize. If I haven't heard from everyone by then I will draw new winners on Monday the 20th.

And The Winner is...

elaing8

Congratulations on winning Heather Long's Cassandra's Dilemma Blog Tour Giveaway!! Thank you to everyone that stopped by! I will be sending the winner's name over to Ms. Long. You should get your copy of Cassandra's Dilemma soon! Enjoy!

Heather Long Cassandra's Dilemma Blog Tour Giveaway!!

Please welcome Author Heather Long to Simply Ali!

Tip off the hat to Miss Ali for allowing me to drop in and share my upcoming release Cassandra’s Dilemma.

This book is a bit of an adventure for me, because when I initially wrote it, I truly believed it would be an MF, but little did I realize that it would become an MFM. The original draft of the book had a different name and it’s actually quite hard for me to remember that sometimes, when I ‘think’ about the book, it’s still with that title. But, be that as it may, Cassandra’s Dilemma releases from Siren-Bookstrand in their PolyAmour line on February 15, just in time for you to cuddle up with your Valentine’s day chocolate boxes and enjoy.

So what is Cassandra’s Dilemma about? It’s about a media consultant handed the chance of a lifetime (after jumping through a lot of hoops) to reveal the Fae to the world. It’s the juiciest job offer, ever. But Cassie is savvy about the world and guards those secrets closely, prepared for a splashy campaign to reintroduce the idea of magic, Elves, and the Fae all at once. Unfortunately, someone doesn’t want this to happen and the press conference site is bombed and Cassie is nearly killed.

Fortunately for Cassie, she has two very strong heroes who are determined to protect her (when they aren’t threatening each other) in Helcyon and Jacob. The men are very different, but they’re sexy, stubborn and serious about their tasks. When I first sat down to write this book, I thought Jacob would be a bit of a romantic foil for the lead, I didn’t expect him to storm the castle, set up housekeeping and stay.

But he did and I love him for it, I think he and Helcyon make a hell of a team when they aren’t furious with each other and the guys are pushed hard, because if they don’t work together, they may not be able to save Cassie from the danger hunting her. Cassie thought she might have taken on too much with her Fae clients, but it’s Helcyon and Jacob that turn her world inside out.

Cassandra’s Dilemma marries together many of my favorite things from paranormal to fantasy to romance and adventure. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Woohoo Heather is giving away one copy of her latest release Cassandra's Dilemma to one lucky commenter! Check out the synopsis and excerpt below.

Cassandra's Dilemma
Book 1
Siren Publishing
Poly-Amour

Media consultant Cassie Belle was thrilled to be making the reveal of the century until a bomb ripped her world apart. The danger puts her on a sensual collision course with Fae Lord Helcyon and Special Agent and Wizard Jacob Book. Her passion for her protectors reveals a forbidden legacy that threatens all of their futures.

Enjoy this excerpt from Cassandra's Dilemma:

Helcyon produced a sword from thin air, slid forward, and jerked Cassie from the chair. Book let out an oath, but his hand slid into his jacket for the gun tucked in the holster. Cassie barely had time to register either man’s actions when a blow struck along her spine, welts of fire stinging her flesh and robbing her of breath.

She collapsed forward, slamming into Book’s legs, but she barely rocked him as he brought his gun to bear, legs apart, feet braced. She gaped at the fierce expression darkening the agent’s features. The soft, autumn-brown eyes blazed hot. His jaw was clenched, a muscle leaping in his cheek, and the shadows of the room seemed to lengthen, elongating around them and casting first Book and then Helcyon in stark relief.

Cassie shot a look over her shoulder, heart in her throat. What could paint such an ugly expression on two beautiful men? “What the hell?”

“Stay down,” Helcyon and Book barked simultaneously.

The situation might almost have been funny, but malevolence oozed off the man—no, that wasn’t a man. It was a creature, a mass of twisting, sinuous shadows—whatever it was. Eyes the color of pitch bored into her, rooting through her soul, freezing her blood. Her heart thumped in her chest, the rushing sound of water flooded her ears, and the floor fell away from beneath her hands.

“Grab her!” Helcyon snarled something else in another language. The silver of his sword flashed and screaming rent the air. Cassie tried to blot the sound out with her hands. Book seized her shoulders in strong hands, dragging her upward just as an inky, black tentacle wrapped around her left leg and yanked.

Helcyon’s sword flashed again, and this time Cassie joined the screaming as it severed the tentacle wrapping around her leg. The world exploded in burning cordite as a gun popped close to her face. Book’s arm secured itself around her middle, and he backed up, Cassie pressed hard to him.

Cassie stared, openmouthed, at the scene unfolding in front of her. The quiet, nondescript hospital room was alive with shadows and silver. In front of them, Helcyon danced with the black tentacles that struck out suddenly, looking for a weakness. When one tentacle snaked through an opening, Book shot it. Wetness soaked Cassie’s leg, and she looked down to see a crimson stain pooling at her feet.

The world tipped on its axis. Cassie couldn’t stop staring at the bloody pool. She leaned forward, a hand outstretched, only to have Book slap it sharply. She jerked her wounded hand back with a muttered oath.

“Hands to yourself, girly,” Book snapped, hauling her across the room toward the door. Another black tentacle reached for her, drawing her attention. It arched toward her and she ducked away as Helcyon slid between her and the tentacle, sword cutting.

“We need to get out of here.” Book spoke to the Elven warrior, who continued to move with inhuman grace, pivoting, spinning, and sword blocking, dancing, slicing, and deflecting.

“The doorway,” Helcyon replied smoothly, evading another piercing tentacle.

“Gate?” Book threw the question out there with another shot as tentacles tried to slip past Helcyon’s guard.

“Yes.”

Cassie blinked at the rapid exchange, swallowing another yelp as she was yanked back into the doorway. Suddenly Helcyon was there, his back pressed against her, sandwiching her effectively between the two men.

“Lose the gun!” Helcyon ordered.

“Dammit.”

“Now.”

Book fingered his weapon, emptying the clip, and then flung the gun away from them. The world tipped sideways. Cassie recovered her voice, shrieking as they fell. Her head slammed into cotton-sheathed muscle, cutting off her cries. She felt another body pin hers before Helcyon bounced to his feet.

Helcyon hauled her to her feet and thrust her behind him. Raising his sword, he faced Book with the same cool expression he’d worn dancing with the black tentacle thing.

The agent bounced to a crouch, eyeing Helcyon with wariness. Aggression thickened the air between the two men. Cassie put a hand on Helcyon’s arm, but the steel muscles beneath her fingers locked to push her back another step. He kept his gaze firmly on the agent.

The coppery scent of blood marred the night air flavored with jasmine and orchids. Cassie sucked in a deep breath. Her head was spinning. Looking around, she recognized the garden from her earlier visit, but it seemed darker, more sinister. The stars above shocked the senses as the Milky Way spiraled across the velvety darkness.

“What was that thing?” she asked, trying to get a grip on her equilibrium. Park. Explosion. Hospital. Underhill. Hospital. Special agent. Attack. Underhill again. Her head swam from the possibilities. So many questions.

No answers.

When neither man answered, Cassie focused on their antagonistic stances. Helcyon’s sword reflected the pale light of the crescent moon. Black blood marred the surface. Book stood a few feet away, hands spread, but not in supplication. Instead, his hands were actually glowing.

“Helcyon? Special Agent Book?”

The men ignored her, focused on each other. Cassie sucked in the perfumed air and stumbled forward, only to be pushed back. Helcyon shifted so that he remained between her and Book.

“Why are you two fighting?” Her heart raced, her head spun, and she thought she might throw up at any moment.

“He sees through the glamour, and he has magic,” Helcyon replied, silken steel in his voice.

“He’s a fucking Elf, and he just took us Underhill.” Raw fury lined the special agent’s face.

“So?” Cassie blinked, digesting their nuggets of information and feeling a little belligerent. Her leg was on fire and she wanted desperately to sit down and not worry that the Homeland Security agent and her Elven bodyguard were about to tear each other into pieces.

“That thing we were fighting came from here.” Book said the last between his teeth. Sweat beaded along his forehead as though whatever he was doing took actual effort.

“Okay.” Cassie hated the weakened note in her voice, but the spinning in her head grew too intense to ignore. She sank to her knees. The edges of her vision went fuzzy. She touched a hand to the bloody welt on her leg. The leg felt on fire, but the skin was icy. Odd. “You two go ahead and kill each other. I’m going to pass out. Whoever wins should wake me up.”

“Cassandra?”

“Ms. Belle?”

Cassie faded away from the conversation, divorced from her own body. It was better to not feel the icy burn crawling through her veins. She floated between one moment and the next.

Appropriate, since she was Underhill.

“Truce?” Helcyon’s voice whispered along her consciousness like the gentlest of caresses.

“Peace.” The agent’s voice moved closer. “Did it mark her?”

“I see blood. I thought we moved her away before it could.”

“It was there for her.”

“I agree.”

“Why were you there, Elf?”

“Why were you there, Wizard?”

“My job.”

“Mine as well. Her leg. See the mark—poison in the blood.”

“What the hell was it?”

“It doesn’t matter now. We must get it out. You draw the poison. I will ease the pain.”

Cassie drifted along, listening to their odd conversation. Warm fingers cupped her cheek. The scent of vanilla and soft spices tickled her nose. Opening her eyes took extreme effort, but she managed to drag her eyelids open.

Helcyon’s face was just centimeters from her own. She looked into eyes the color of the deep, green forest. She’d thought his eyes were black, but they were dark, like the woods at night, filled with mystery and promise. The scent of vanilla mingled with pine, loam, and rich earth. She inhaled deeply, sighing at the heady combination. His breath whispered across her face. Her lips parted in anticipation. The soft velvet of his lips rushed across her mouth, capturing the gasp of pain she released as jagged ice and fire ripped through her leg.

The fingers on her cheek caressed away the tears. Her mouth parted under the tentative probing of his tongue. Pain faded away, leaving only the sensations of his lips moving on hers. Languorous heat spread through her body, leaving her limp. She whimpered a soft sound as he pulled away, but his finger stroked across her lips. “Sleep, Cassandra. Sleep.”

Robbed of the effort to fight the compulsion, Cassie slept. Somewhere beyond the thick wraps of satin and silk muffling the world she heard a snort of derision.

Heather Long is a full time writer, mother, friend and student. She can often be found at 4 a.m. hiding in her garage with a cup of coffee and a new story idea unfolding on her laptop. You can keep up with these and all of Heather's upcoming releases via her Website, Facebook, and occasionally Twitter although she swears she's pretty bad at remembering to Tweet even when she reads them.

Heather will be giving away one copy of Cassandra's Dilemma at each stop on the blog tour. Increase your chances of winning by stopping at each blog. You may only win once.

*Heather's Cassandra's Dilemma Blog Stops*

2/09: Melissa Schroeder's Blog
2/10: Simply Ali
2/13: Cecile Smutty Hussy's Place: All I Want and More
2/14: Heather Long's Blog
2/15: RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk
2/16: Romance Rakes For the Love of Romance
2/17: Lisa's World

This giveaway is open internationally! Please leave a comment below to enter and your email address. The winner will be chosen via Random.org Giveaway ends Sunday at Midnight CST.

Thank you Heather for stopping by and giving away a copy of Cassandra's Dilemma to a Simply Ali reader!

Follower Love Giveaway Hop+Support Read For The Heart!!

Ahh, February, a month where we get to celebrate Valentine's Day... one of my favorites as a romance reader ;) February is also known as American Heart Month... a reminder that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women.

For this hop, I thought I'd do one of two things... giveaway some books (as I love to do) and support awareness of heart disease in women. One thing I love about Penguin Group is how they offer a selection of special edition books for this month, which feature Read For The Heart seals on their covers. You can find out more about Penguin Group's support of Read For The Heart here.

This year's featured titles are:



I really want to show some Love to my followers and support Read For The Heart so I'm giving away six books to six lucky winners!!

This giveaway is open internationally! To win all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know what book of the above titles you would like to win. The winners will be chosen using Random.org.

Don't forget to check out the linky below and visit the amazing blogs participating in the Follower Love Hop sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Rachael Renee Anderson.

Happy Monday, Hello Winner!!

Monday may not usually be my favorite day of the week but it is pretty great when I get to give something away!

Thank you to everyone who entered the Kresley Cole Giveaway! I really enjoyed reading everyone's responses thank you for sharing your favorite characters and series. Okay I've stalled you long enough :) Drumroll...The winner chosen by Random.org is

Veronika

Yay!! Congrats Veronika!! Please email me and I will send you your Giveaway Winnings.

Kresley Cole Giveaway!!

A couple of weeks ago, Eli and I got to attend Kresley Cole's booksigning at Katy Budget Books. It was very crowded but fun...and I even had a chance to catch up with author Vicky Dreiling.

One of the highlights of the signing was meeting the cover model for Lothaire (very hot ;) )

After Eli and I had our books signed, as much as we wanted to stay, we were hungry for dinner, lol. Driving away, Eli commented that she was surprised I didn't get any extra signed books. *gasp* I had completely forgotten!

I always, always, pick up extra copies of signed books to giveaway to friends, book club members, or here on my blog... and I must have had so much on my mind (as usual, of late) that I completely forgot, eek. So, I quickly made a u-turn, lol, and headed back to the bookstore.

Again, dinner took first priority, so I wasn't able to get back in line to get the books signed... but, Eli was nice enough to trade me her signed copy (her name isn't in it) of Playing Easy to Get for one I bought that wasn't signed.

Along with Playing Easy to Get, I will be giving away a copy of Lothaire and A Hunger Like No Other to one lucky reader... this will be open to International Readers, too ;)

*Please leave a comment telling us who is your favorite Immortal character from Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series. If Kresley is a new author to you then let us know what is your favorite series or character. Please include your email and good luck!!#Giveaway ends Sunday @ Midnight CST.

Spotlight: The Moreno Brothers Romance Series by Elizabeth Reyes

Before I introduce you all to this series, I just must mention that I actually started this series a couple months ago because someone else was gushing about it and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Yet, when I found out it was a YA I was a bit hesitant to read... because I didn't feel in the mood for a YA... but, OMG... once I started with Forever Mine, I could not stop!!

I hope you take the time to check out the following books by Elizabeth Reyes... who knows, you may soon be gushing about it, too ;)...

Forever Mine (Book #1)

Seventeen-year old Sarah’s life is turned upside down when her single mom is sent to jail. She’s forced to move, leaving behind everything she’s ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno. Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be “just friends”. The problem? Sarah’s best friend Sydney is not a girl. With their unexpected romance intensifying to places neither ever experienced, how long can Sarah keep Angel in the dark about the guy waiting for her back home?

Available now on Amazon US, UK, Germany, France; B&N Nook; Smashwords


For prologue and chapter 1 Click Here.

Always Been Mine (Book #2)


After one heartache too many, Valerie Zuniga vows to never let Alex Moreno hurt her again. A year later, she is forced to reunite with him at a party where one unexpected sizzling kiss tells her she’s far from over him. No way will she allow herself to get sucked back into that torment. She’ll resist him even if that means using the one thing that’ll stop Alex dead in his tracks: another man.

Alex is coming off one of the worst years of his life. He spent so much time wallowing in self-pity, he never realized how much he’d missed Valerie. That is, until that kiss. Now, he’s determined to get her back one way or another, and no other man will stand in his way. Especially after discovering that Valerie may be in danger, a danger he blames himself for.


Available now on Amazon US, UK, Germany, France; B&N Nook, and Smashwords


For excerpt Click Here.

Sweet Sofie (Book #3)


Her entire life, Sofia Moreno has dealt with overprotective brothers. With her three older brothers always lurking, no boy would dare reach out to her. Luckily for Sofia, the one boy she's got her heart set on has always been within reach: her brother's best friend Eric, even though his loyalty to her brothers runs deep. Sofia knows there is only so much he can do before giving in to her.

Two years older than her, Eric Diego has always known there would be hell to pay if he messed with his best friend's kid sister, Sofia. Through the years, he watches as she blooms into a beautiful young lady right before his eyes. With teenage hormones raging and Sofia more than willing, Eric agrees to the unthinkable: a forbidden secret romance. Feeling emotions and a feverish passion that's new to them both, neither is ready for how quickly their romance spins out of control.

Available on Amazon US, UK Germany , France, B&N Nook, Smashwords

For excerpt Click Here.

Romero (Book #4)




Prim and proper middle school teacher Isabel Montenegro always runs the opposite direction from men like Ramon Romero. A foul-mouthed, uneducated, loose cannon has no place in her careful plans. But instead of running away, Isabel is completely captivated. The intensity of his nature, while a bit daunting, mesmerizes her in ways she can’t begin to understand. She’s unwilling to walk away—even when her instincts are screaming at her to run.

Romero has no idea what he's getting himself into when he first kisses Isabel. Shocked at the passion she invokes in him, he believes he can keep his usual short fuse under wraps. Falling fast and hard for someone so flawlessly sweet only makes him more aware that he’s far from perfect. If she is ever witness to his biggest imperfection, he’s sure she’ll bail. But when her meddling sister does the worst thing imaginable—bring other men between him and his Izzy—that fuse is lit and all bets are off.

Available on Amazon US UK Germany, France B&N Nook, Smashwords

For exceprt Click Here.


Making You Mine (Book #5)

Sal's Story coming end of December 2012.

Blurb to come.

About The Author:

I was born and raised and continue to live in sunny southern California. I'm married and have two wonderful teens. My love for writing began when I was just a kid though, I never really had any dreams or aspirations of doing it for a living. Then along came the age of eReaders and I saw an opportunity to get my writing out for the world to read without jumping through hoops and getting past the red tape of trying to get traditionally published. The Moreno Brothers series has literally changed my life. I now wake up to go to work a few yards from my bed.

Forever Mine is the first in the series and is currently still free on Amazon but I anticipate that changing real soon. Always Been Mine is the second in the series, then Sweet Sofie and recently released Romero is the fourth. Making You Mine is the fifth in the series and will be available tentatively this December 2011. I already have another series in mind that will immediately follow this one. (No I won't be taking any vacations from writing!) I will have more info sneak and peeks of that series which will be out in 2012. But I have so many other stories screaming to be told I only wish I could write faster!

I love hearing from my readers and try to always respond as soon as I can, so feel free to reach out!