Tag Archives: romance

Apr1

Release Day- Kat’s Song

Posted on by
Standard

It’s release day for my book, Kat’s Song.  BUY LINK

Blurb:

Kat McKay’s heart is locked tight against further entanglements. Determined not to give it again, she’s abandoned all hope of love and holds herself apart from men. The last one did a number on her and she’s never going there again.

Paul Baker, world-renowned musician, keeps his deepest secret close to his heart. He’s as determined as Kat McKay not to let his heart get stomped on. The difference is, his isn’t personal. It’s public.

Out of necessity, the two of them join together. One with a motive to protect and the other reluctant to be protected. Their competing desires threaten to derail them both. Resolution can only be made at great risk.

KatsSongCoverArt (2)

Feb29

Cover Reveal- Kat’s Song

Posted on by
Standard

Here it is!! I saw the draft a few weeks ago and wanted to share but wasn’t allowed to until now. I love it and it’s very evocative of the story. Thanks to Gwen Phifer for being such a great cover artist to work with! She captured my vision in a marvelous way. The book comes out in April, 2016.

KatsSongCoverArt (2).jpg

Oct5

Teaser – The Eisenger Element

Posted on by
Standard

Here’s a teaser of The Eisenger Element (release date is Oct 24, 2015) and some more New Orleans pictures.

TEASER:

Wasn’t it bad enough his brother had been wrongly convicted? Now they were trying to hang a rap on him…

“You and your brother are very clever. He’s been convicted of murder himself—”

“Oh, so, in your esteemed opinion, the inclination to murder is something that’s in the genes?” Linc took a step in Emilia’s direction. “First of all, my brother was wrongfully convicted—wrongfully—and secondly, that’s one of the most inane things I think I’ve ever heard in my life.” Linc took another step toward her.

Emilia resisted the urge to back up, as she didn’t want Eisenger to know he’d gotten to her and that she was a bit frightened by the anger in his voice. She threw a grateful glance at Howard as he took hold of Lincoln’s upper arm.

“Hang on, man. No need to threaten the lady,” Howard said.

“She’s no lady and I didn’t threaten her.” Lincoln spread his arms and grinned but to Emilia it appeared to be more of a grimace than an actual smile. “I’m an innocent man standing in his own driveway being needled by an officer of the law. Maybe I need to make a call of my own to the police commissioner. Tell him all about the harassment I’m enduring based on the mere fact that I have a brother in Angola and I have a dead law partner who I couldn’t possibly have had a chance to kill. What do you think?” Linc glared at Emilia. “How do you think that phone call could affect that gold shield that I bet you have had for about five minutes?”

“You don’t have that kind of clout, mister. If you did, your brother wouldn’t be in prison now, would he?”

At that comment, Lincoln did lunge at Emilia. She whipped her gun up and aimed it directly at his chest.

Sep30

Blurb- The Eisenger Element

Posted on by
Standard

Here is the official blurb for The Eisenger Element.  I’ll share a pic or two of New Orleans as well.

Blurb:

She thought she was ready for the hard cases, but that was before she met him…

Emilia Hammond recently earned her gold shield as a detective with the New Orleans police department and is working on her first assignment, eager to prove herself capable of handling her promotion. After a series of attacks on prostitutes in the French Quarter, she finds herself going undercover to investigate. In the process, she’s called to the scene of a murder at an attorney’s office. She has a good lead, a solid case, until her prime suspect turns the tables on her.

He’s trying to clear his innocent brother, and now he’s a murder suspect himself…

Attorney Lincoln Eisenger is from a prominent New Orleans Garden District family. His brother Myles is in Angola Prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Linc is determined to clear his brother’s name and bring him home. But when his law partner is killed, Linc becomes the prime suspect. Now he has to clear himself as well as his brother, all the while trying to ignore the sparks igniting between him and the spunky female detective he thought was a prostitute.

17621763

1780

Sep16

Cover Reveal- The Eisenger Element

Posted on by
Standard

This one was hard to imagine an appropriate cover. Even the cover artist was at a loss since there is so much going on in this story. I knew I had no idea how to capture the essence of it and I’ve been thinking about it since I finished writing it a long time ago (this was my NaNoWriMo story in 2013)-  I knew a New Orleans Police Department badge was something I wanted somewhere since the heroine is a cop. The scales of Justice was also an idea since the hero is a lawyer. Jack, the cover artist, came up with the New Orleans musician in the corner to give the flavor of the city.

The first scene is the remainder of the cover. In that scene, the heroine is working undercover and the hero is leaning on a lamp post hoping to see her as he wants to assist her to get off the streets because he thinks she’s an underage prostitute. (The inspiration for this story was the Herman’s Hermits song, Leaning on a lamp post– LOL) Check it out here.

Eisenger Element

Sep12

Interior of the Musee D’ Orsay

Posted on by
Standard

When I traveled to Paris recently, I had a chance to go to the Orsay Museum. It used to be a train station and I wanted to share the picture of the ceiling as well as the overall ambiance of the place. It is the same as when trains made their home here before heading to all parts of Europe (other than the art and the tourists. LOL). This place reminded me of how I wanted the train station in my September 20, 2014 release from Black Opal Books, Senior Assassin, to look in the readers’ imagination.

The first scene of the book takes place in the station (the real one is also in Paris and looks very similar- Gare De l’est) where the Orient Express left from. Just imagine steam trains with their smoke wafting through this area and people running to catch their train with the women dressed in fur coats with gloves and pert hats and the men in their long overcoats and fedoras.

Think about the bustle of porters carrying luggage, the excitement palpable in the air, adventures to be had, and maybe some intrigue along the journey. Can you feel it? Close your eyes, picture it and soak it up! 2014-08-17 13.02.02 2014-08-17 13.02.22

Aug13

Train Photo

Posted on by
Standard

This is a photo of an old train engine no longer in operation. It’s on display in the median in my hometown. Every time I drive by it, I’m reminded of my murder mystery with romantic elements- Senior Assassin– that is now due to be released at the end of September, 2014.  I love old trains. So romantic (although I’m sure they weren’t when coal smoke was coming out of the smokestack and the windows were open. I bet a lot of folks inhaled some nasty black stuff there. Haha.

train.

Jun20

Guest Post- Jami Gray

Posted on by
Standard

I have a special guest today. She is Jami Gray and is another author at Black Opal Books. She’s got a great post for us today- including some cool research she did for her books. Enjoy!

Jami Gray

RESEARCH HAS SHOWN WRITERS NEED RESEARCH…

 “Research is formalized curiosity.”  Zora Neele Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a writer is research. Sounds strange? Only if you’re thinking research has to be dry and boring, equating it with college or high school papers. For me, I’m all about the unusual and scary, it’s why I write Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romantic Suspense.  I’m constantly asking, “what if?”

When I first sat down to write my Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, my research focused on mythology, namely European mythology. Fascinating cast of characters over yonder. You think our modern day soap operas get convoluted, try following family lines of the Greek, Romans, or Irish. Not to mention the Nordic folks who make genealogy a hot mess. Yet it’s a great place to start when you’re building a modern day world filled with the fantastical.

I like options, so much so I made sure my world had a place for everyone—witches, wizards, demons, shifters, Fey—if you had magic, I would make a place for you.  Creating believable worlds for readers requires you to understand where our stories come from and why.

SHADOW’S MOON is the third book in my series and focuses on the wolf shifters of the Northwest.  When I delved into the psychological reasons behind the stories of werewolves, I found how historical man tried to explain away more “primal” instincts by giving his more frightening desires a physical presence—a slathering, maddened predator who hunts by the light of the moon.

I took this little gem and added it to my character motivation for my hero, Warrick Vidis, who just happens to be the top dog of the Northwest.  When you’re able to meld the whys into a what if, you can create a character with depths to ponder. In Warrick’s case, as the Alpha, having a mate equaled giving your enemies an opening to take you down, so on a primal level, the equation became:  Mate=Weakness, Weakness=Dead.

And here is where the fun of research comes in. My shifters have two natures—instinct (wolf) and intellect (human). Having both aspects co-exist inside one skin presents unique sets of challenges, which in turn add to the realism of your story.  Now I have characters who aren’t just challenged by their environment and the things happening around them, now they’re faced with their own natures.  So if you’re having a really bad day, chances are extremely high you’re going to go all tooth and fang on someone with very little provocation.

My research also went into how wolf packs functioned, how wolves fought and lived. Do you know how hard it is to watch a real live wolf fight on a computer screen in the middle of a coffee shop? There were a few times I had to make sure no one else could see my screen.

These videos were hard for me to watch, I’m a huge animal lover, but I needed to understand the physical limitations to wolves. For example, big cats have extremely flexible spines, which allow them to twist in mid-air or mid-leap. (Yep, have a character who can shift to a leopard) Wolves on the other hand, tend to rely on numbers and their jaw and leg strength to dominate a fight.  This meant when I had two wolves fighting on page, the description had to mimic reality. Claws that slashed toward unprotected stomachs, jaws locking on the heavy ruff around a neck, even how they moved—only when locked together do they go up on their hind legs, because otherwise their opponent could rip open an unprotected stomach.

Even when I’m working on my Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, research is crucial, even though the topics differ.  Military tactics, guns, psychic abilities, locations—it all comes together to make my stories real. The best part—sometimes it’s the unexpected fact you run across that takes your story telling to the next level.

And as an avid reader, I find when my favorite authors add that tiny, jeweled nugget to their stories, they’ve got me hooked.  Which leads me to ask: what’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned from your favorite writer?

Shadows Moon Cover

BIO/BLURBS/FIND ME/BUY LINKS for JAMI GRAY

 

Bio:

Jami Gray grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border, and was adopted at the age of 14 to suddenly become the fifth eldest of 37 children. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and three minors-History, English, and Theater. (Decision-making was not her forte at the time.)  Shortly after marrying her techie-geek hubby (who moonlighted as her best friend in high school) she completed a Masters in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix Oregon.

Now, years later, she’s back in the Southwest where she’s outnumbered in her own home by two Star Wars obsessed boys, one Star Wars obsessed husband, and an overly-friendly, 105-pound male lab.  Delving into the wild paranormal worlds where romance collides with suspense and Urban Fantasy is queen, manages to salvage her sanity. Or so we let her believe…

Blurb for Shadow’s Edge:

Everyone fears what hunts in the shadows—especially the monsters…

 It takes a monster to hunt one, and for Raine McCord, forged in the maelstrom of magic and science, she’s the one for the job. In a world where the supernatural live in a shadowy existence with the mundane, a series of disappearances and deaths threatens the secrecy of her kind and indicates someone knows the monsters are alive and kicking.  Partnering up with the sexy and tantalizing Gavin Durand proves to be a challenge as dangerous as the prey she hunts.

When the trail points back to the foundation which warped Raine’s magic as a child, her torturous past raises its ugly head.  Gavin and Raine sift through a maze of lies, murder and betrayal to discover not only each other, but the emerging threat to them and the entire magical community.

Blurb for Shadow’s Soul:

Some nightmares are born of love…

Raine McCord has no problem taking down the monsters of the world, it’s one of the reasons she’s so good at her job.  So playing bodyguard to Cheveyo, head Magi of the Northwest, as he consults with the Southwest Kyn should be an easy assignment. Unfortunately, simple task turns into a nightmare when Cheveyo is kidnapped and Raine is left for dead by one of the Kyn’s most feared beings, a Soul Stealer.

The Stealer’s attack leaves lasting wounds, undermining Raine’s confidence as a warrior and damaging her unruly magic. Her ability to heal her mind and spirit hinges on the one man who can touch her soul, Gavin Durand.  Compelled to face the emotions raging between them, they must embrace not only their stormy relationship but their evolving magic to escape the twisted threads of murder and betrayal to find Cheveyo.

As Raine and Gavin come together and begin to unravel the complex web of secrets and hidden vendettas haunting the Southwest Kyn, they discover unsettling new truths that threaten their very existence.

Blurb for Wrapped in Shadows:

The magic of the holidays can be hell…

Celebrations abound during the holidays, but this Christmas an engagement celebration goes horrifically wrong.  What appears to be a simple murder/suicide hides a vicious surprise. The type of gift Raine and Gavin, elite member of the Kyn, didn’t want humans to unwrap, becauserevealing the monsters in the shadows isn’t the way to spread holiday cheer.

Blurb for Shadow’s Moon:

Even a wild heart can be broken…

A blonde, a brunette and a monster walk into a bar and all hell breaks loose.

It should have been the start of a bad joke, but days from a full moon Xander Cade, Tracker for the Northwest Motoki Pack, finds nothing funny about confronting an enraged Shifter in a crowded Portland nightclub filled with unsuspecting humans. The resulting carnage frays an already thin veil of secrecy shielding the supernatural Kyn community from public scrutiny, and ensures she can’t escape the one man she’s been determined to avoid, her Alpha and mate, Warrick Vidis.  Dominating, protective and compelling, Warrick threatens her individuality like no other.

As the Northwest Alpha wolf, compromise isn’t in Warrick Vidis’s vocabulary, but when his reluctant mate, Xander Cade, refuses to leave off the hunt for a killer, he has no qualms using whoever or whatever necessary to protect her or his pack. A series of unusual deaths involving lone wolves, along with anonymous threats against him and his Pack, begin to jeopardize his normal steely control. Add in Xander’s continual reluctance to fully accept their Soul bond, and the line between intellect and instinct begins to blur, leaving him wondering if one woman’s love and acceptance will be enough to save both man and wolf.

As the danger escalates, threatening not just their Pack but those closest to them, Warrick and Xander must find a way to trust each other and accept their rare bond or risk losing everything-their pack, their friends and each other.

Blurb for Hunted by the Past:

Sometimes death is the only way to out run the past…

A reluctant psychic who can relive the past, a man well versed in keeping secrets, and a psychopathic killer enter a deadly game where the past determines the future.

Changing the past is an impossibility ex-Marine, Cynthia “Cyn” Arden, understands all too well. Struggling in the aftermath of a botched mission, which cost her two teammates, her military career, and a fledging relationship, she’s brought home by a panicked phone call.  The psychic killer behind her nightmares has escaped military custody to hunt down the remaining teammates, one by one. Next on his murderous list–Cyn. Her only chance at survival is to master the psychic ability she’s spent years denying.

The killer’s game brings her face to face with the one person guaranteed to throw her off kilter—the unsettling and distracting man she left behind, Kayden Shaw.  Once she believed he’d stand by her side, until he chose his job and his secrets over her.  A choice that’s left the scars of the past etched deep on her mind and heart.

To survive this twisted game, Cyn must risk trusting her heart and accepting who and what she is, or lose not only her life, but the man she loves.

Available Now:

Shadow’s Edge: Book 1 of the Kyn Kronicles

Shadow’s Soul: Book 2 of the Kyn Kronicles, Paranormal Romance Winner of 2012 Shooting Star

Wrapped in Shadows (.5) part of Things That Go Bump For The Holidays—A Collection of Short Stories

NOW AVAILABLE:

Shadow’s Moon: Book 3 of the Kyn Kronicles, 2013 Golden Claddagh Finalist

Coming in July 11th, 2014 from Muse It Up Publishing:

Hunted by the Past: Book 1 of the PSY-IV Teams

And Fall 2014 brings Shadow’s Curse: Book 4 of the Kyn Kronicles.

You can find me at:

Black Opal Books:    www.BlackOpalBooks.com

Muse It Up Publishing:  http://museituppublishing.com

Website:     www.JamiGray.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author

Facebook Author Page:  https://www.facebook.com/JamiGrayUFWriter

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/JamiGrayAuthor

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/JamiGray

Google+:  https://google.com/+JamiGray

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.com/e/B006HU3HJI

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/LvoZn

 

 

 

 

BUY LINKS:

You can find all the buy links for both books in all formats at:

 

http://jamigray.com/kynkronicles/

 

http://jamigray.com/psyivteams/

 

 

Or you can use the following:

 

THE KYN KRONICLES:

 

Shadow’s Edge: Bk 1 of Kyn Kronicles

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061CAXJ4

 

Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Shadows-Edge-The-Kyn-Kronicles-Book-1/Jami-Gray/e/2940013239838

 

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039sedgethekynkroniclesbook1-625433-139.html

 

Black Opal Books:    http://blackopalbooks.com/blackopalstore/product/56-shadows-edge

 

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/101023

 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-edge-kyn-kronicles/id482595056?mt=11

 

 

Shadow’s Soul:Bk 2 of the Kyn Kronicles

 

Black Opal Books: http://blackopalbooks.com/blackopalstore/product/57-shadows-soul

 

Amazon:  http://amzn.com/B008DIZ9OI

 

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039ssoulthekynkroniclesbook2-848561-139.html

 

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-soul-the-kyn-kronicles-book-2-jami-gray/1111742135?ean=2940014698955

 

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/174291

 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-soul-kyn-kronicles/id541827836?mt=11

 

 

THINGS THAT GO BUMP FOR THE HOLIDAYS (Wrapped in Shadows)

 

Amazon:  http://amzn.com/1626940908

 

Nook:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/things-that-go-bump-for-the-holidays-black-opal-books/1117680975?ean=2940148940685

 

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/387518

 

 

Shadow’s Moon: Bk 3 of the Kyn Kronicles

 

Amazon:  http://amzn.com/B00K8AZZES

 

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-moon-the-kyn-kronicles-book-3-jami-gray/1119462166?ean=2940149437719

 

Black Opal Books:  http://blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/paranormal-romance/shadows-moon

 

 

Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/435674

 

ARe:  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-shadow039smoonthekynkroniclesbook3-1507186-140.html

 

iBooks:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shadows-moon-kyn-kronicles/id875444016?mt=11

 

 

THE PSY-IV TEAMS:

 

Hunted by the Past: Bk 1 of PSY-IV Team

 

MuseItUp Publishing:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/57-our-authors/authors-g/445-jami-gray

 

 

Jun12

Back Cover Blurb: Senior Assassin

Posted on by
Standard

Here’s the back cover blurb on my upcoming release from Black Opal Books, Senior Assassin:

In 1935 Europe, storm clouds of impending hostilities loom over the landscape, threatening the uneasy peace on the continent since the upheaval of the last world war.

Winchester Barrington, IV, scion of a wealthy Connecticut family, boards the luxury train, The Orient Express, ostensibly for a pleasure trip from Paris to Istanbul. In reality, he’s a spy for the United States War Department on the trail of a master assassin. His mission: to find and capture this elusive executioner.

Among a growing list of suspects, including an Oxford Don, an American entrepreneur, a Chicago gangster, and two mysterious Turkish men, Win finds himself attracted to a shy librarian who may actually be his quarry.

 

May11

Sale – Ebooks for Mom or Yourself

Posted on by
Standard

Sweet Cravings Publishing as well as their parent company Secret Cravings Publishing is having a 25% off sale this weekend that is site-wide. Pop over and grab some romance for mom or for yourself. Here’s the link.

Use the code Mothers25.

Here are some covers!