Interesting Facts About the Knights Templar

I’m over at the Carina Press blog today talking about The Knights Templar and the interesting facts I learned while researching Her Dark Knight. Stop by and leave a comment!

Has a book ever made you cry?

I’m over at RR@H Novel Thoughts and Book Talk discussing the books that make me cry. What books have made you cry? Come on over and join the discussion and get entered to win a copy of my newest release, Her Dark Knight.

What Are You Thankful For?

My post, What Are You Thankful For, is up on Shawna’s blog. Check it out and leave a comment telling me what you’re thankful for this year.

Release Day!

Her Dark Knight releases today!!! You can find it at Barnes and Nobles, Amazon or Carina Press. Don’t have time to read? It’s also available in audio format.

Madelaine Alexander is on a mission. When her boss sends her to the hottest nightclub in town to meet with the owner, she won’t be deterred, even if that means standing in line for fifty-eight minutes in torturous heels while she’d rather be home in her pj’s with a bowl of popcorn.

A Knight of the Templar, Christien Chevalier was given immortality along with the responsibility of protecting the treasure of the Templars. He’s been unwavering in his task for centuries until his one true love—who died seven hundred years ago—shows up in his club, demanding his attention.

Christien couldn’t protect Madelaine when they first fell in love. She was married to a lord and he was simply a knight. Now, through some unknown miracle, she stands before him again and they have a second chance. But Christien fears that Madelaine is being used as a pawn in a dangerous game, a game of good versus evil that could affect all of mankind…

Read an excerpt

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Why the Cullen family is especially thankful this Thanksgiving

John and I the summer of 2010

Excuse me if I start to cry, but this is an emotional post for me. We here at the Cullen house are especially thankful this year and you can bet your bottom dollar (whatever that means) that we’ll be thanking God before we dig into our Thanksgiving dinner today.

On May 9th my husband left the house to go on a bicycle ride with our Labrador retriever, Winston. This is something the two do all the time. John holds the leash and Winston runs alongside him and they both get exercise. We don’t know exactly what happened this past May 9th, but John fell off the bike. He wasn’t wearing a helmet. He cracked his skull in two places and suffered a traumatic brain injury. John was rushed by helicopter to the nearest trauma hospital where his condition quickly deteriorated. He was taken into surgery and part of his skull was removed to allow for the swelling.

There is a poster on the wall in the waiting room of Neuro ICU. Its of a man in a hospital bed and all of the machines surrounding him. Apparently its supposed to prepare people before they go into the ICU, but no picture could adequately prepare me for what I was soon going to face. The first seventy-two hours were critical. The doctors wouldn’t give me any sort of prognosis other than he’d survived so far. He spent nine days in a coma, fourteen days in ICU and eleven days in a rehabilitation hospital where he had to relearn how to walk, to talk, to eat and everything in between.

This past year has taught me that friends can be more like family, that acquaintances can quickly become lifelong friends and that there is an inner core to all of us where we draw strength, hope and courage.

3 weeks after the accident

Today I am thankful for the woman who called 911, for the EMTs and their quick response, for the ER doctors when they recognized the severe trauma and had Air Care on the way before I even arrived at the hospital. I’m thankful for the neuro surgeon whose night was interrupted for emergency surgery. For Dr. Jordan Bonomo, John’s neuro ICU doctor, for always being patient and most of all positive and for never sugar-coating anything. I’m thankful for the numerous nurses who nursed John back to health with dignity and respect.

I’m extremely thankful for Dr. Bavishi, John’s neuro rehabilitation doctor and for all of his speech, occupational and physical therapists: Lauren, Stephanie, Allie, Courtney, Amy, AmyII, Karen, Melissa and Jonathon–there is a special place in heaven for all of you.

I can’t even begin to express my thanks and gratitude for the friends and family who picked up my kids from home and drove them to the hospital every day (thank you, Pattie!), for John’s co-workers who showed up that night and sat with me until 4am and who continued to sit with me for two straight weeks. Who left their homes and families to come to the hospital late at night so I wouldn’t have to walk to my car alone, who cut our grass on their days off. Who grocery shopped for me when I couldn’t. Who laughed with me and cried with me and ate numerous meals at Chipotle with me because that was the only decent place to eat around the hospital. THANK YOU!

For the hundreds and hundreds of prayer warriors who put John on their prayer lists. He was an international sensation. From England to Scotland to the US, thousands prayed for John’s recovery. God bless each and every one of you. Prayers work. John is proof.

John and I today

So when we sit around the table today, I will be thanking God for all of these people. But most of all I’ll be thanking God for returning John to me.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

John finishing his first 5k. Five months after he learned how to walk again

Let the Baking Begin!

I’m a baker, not a cook. There’s a difference, in my opinion. Cooks like to make things like…dinner. They work with meat and potatoes and gravies and other such things. Bakers work with flour and eggs and chocolate and sugar. Lots and lots of sugar.

I love creating new desserts to take to Thanksgiving dinner but I’ve learned over the years that people like the basics. Like cookies and pies. Mainly cookies. So that’s my job during Thanksgiving. I’m in charge of everyone’s sugar high and, trust me, that’s exactly where you want me. You seriously don’t want me messing with the turkey. I did that one year and after we were finished eating we discovered I’d left the…what-d’ya-call-its…inside. You know the neck and innards. Really, people? Who sticks a turkey’s neck inside the cavity??? That’s just gross.

So this year I’m making my famous sugar cookies, which are actually my sister-in-laws famous cookies but my family has adopted them as their favorite. And I’m making a lemon bundt cake because that’s my husband’s favorite and at least for this Thanksgiving he gets what he wants (read my Thanksgiving day post [coming on, erm, Thanksgiving] for more information on that).

The baking has begun. The sugar cookie dough is rusticating in the refrigerator and the ingredients for the others are sitting on the counter because you can’t start these things too early. You make them too far ahead and people eat them and then you have nothing for dessert on Thanksgiving day.

So we all know people like turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and green bean casserole for dinner, but what’s your favorite Thanksdiving Day dessert?

Six Sentence Sunday

If you’d like to read more six sentences by some absolutely fabulous authors, click here.

My six sentences are brought to you by Her Dark Knight, due to release on November 28. Enjoy!

Quickly she slipped on her shoe and slid off the
stool. Throwing a “thank you” back to the stranger,
she hiked the strap of her purse over her shoulder and
was preparing to plow through the crowd when she
spotted him. At least she thought it was him. It had to
be. No one else wore such an exquisitely cut suit or
commanded the attention he did. The people around
him kept a respectful distance, creating a bubble of
calm amid the frenzy of the dancing.

Preorder Her Dark Knight

Kindle | Nook

Sweet Saturday Samples

If you’d like to read more Sweet Saturday Samples from other fabulous authors, click here.

Today’s sample is brought to you by Her Dark Knight, due to be released November 28. Enjoy!

Her sadness drove into her, weakening her with its intensity. She was sad for him and for her.

“Where did you get this?”

Yanked back to the present by his harsh question, she took a deep breath. The room swam into focus, the desk and chair still sitting before the windows, the bookcases in their right place. And Chevalier in front of her, dressed not in medieval clothing but an expensive gray suit that matched his eyes.

His fingers touched her necklace, then skimmed the soft skin of her neck. Heat exploded inside her and centered on his touch. He did nothing more than touch, but it felt as if she’d been branded.

She struggled to shake off the remnants of the strange vision. Something weird was going on here.

Something otherworldly and something she didn’t want anything to do with, yet her feet refused to move to the door.

Their gazes locked, held. His was so familiar.

“It was a gift from my mother. Years ago.”

He lifted the silver key she’d worn almost her whole life and cradled it in his large palm.

Preorder Her Dark Knight

Kindle | Nook

 

5 Star Reviews for Her Dark Knight

Her Dark Knight received 5 stars from Single Titles. I am so thrilled and so excited they loved it. Here’s a snippet of what they had to say:

Magnificently written, the story blends past and present giving you a beautiful love story that has you wondering where it will lead.

I always love it when a reviewer loves my story and characters as much as I do. It makes it all worth while :-). You can read the rest of the review here.

And Addicted to Romance gave Her Dark Knight 5 stars as well.

There was such perfect mix of romance, mystery, intrigue and great story telling that just pulled at my heartstrings throughout the whole book.

Head Stuck in a Book said, “I really didn’t want this book to end it was all things paranormal books should be…” giving it a 5 out of 5.

Review – Unforgivable by Laura Griffin

I first discovered Laura Griffin a few weeks ago when her novella, Surrender at Dawn, was offered as a free download for Nook. I’m all about free (just ask my kids) and I love romantic suspense so I downloaded it and read it in a day. What impressed me about Ms. Griffin was that she understood a Glock does not have a safety. Ooooh, that’s one of the things that drives me nuts about suspense authors–when they don’t know their weapons. The second thing that drew me in was her dialogue. I’m a sucker for snappy, realistic, dialogue. Note the emphasis on realistic. And the third thing that drew me in was her fast pace and tight writing.

As soon as I finished Surrender at Dawn, I immediately acquired Unforgivable. Wow! I couldn’t put the book down. Again, her dialogue was realistic and her writing tight. Not to mention that she really knows her stuff when it comes to police detectives and DNA (although the term dick, when used to refer to a detective did throw me off. I don’t know one detective who would refer to themselves, or each other, as a dick. At least not in the sense of detective work 🙂 ).

The heroine, Mia, was strong and good at what she does, but she also has a softer side and a vulnerability when it comes to a certain detective who happens to get her case. What I liked about the hero, Ric, was that he was tight-lipped and didn’t reveal his emotions a whole lot (which very much describes a lot of police officers) but I always knew what he was thinking through body language and such. Mia wants more from Ric. Ric needs to hold back. Sparks fly until the final argument that is stunningly written. I won’t reveal it here but that scene was my favorite–when Ric loses control enough to reveal his feelings for Mia. Sigh.

And there’s a wonderful subplot between Ric’s partner, Jonah, and Mia’s friend, Sophie. I was so excited to learn that Jonah and Sophie get their own story (Snapped). Definitely picking up that book too.

If you like fast-paced suspense and a well-balanced romance then Unforgivable is definitely the book for you.

A+

Blurb for Unforgivable:

TRACING KILLERS IS MIA VOSS’S BUSINESS.
AND HER WORK JUST GOT PERSONAL.

At first, Mia Voss thinks it’s just bad luck when her already lousy day ends with a carjacking. But what seems like a random incident is followed by another sinister episode. A DNA expert, Mia has made it her mission to put away vicious criminals. Suddenly, she’s become the target of one. And the only way to protect the people she loves most is to deliberately destroy her reputation and risk letting a killer walk free.

Once, Mia trusted Detective Ric Santos. That was before Ric let his turbulent past ruin his chances with Mia, the sexiest, most intriguing woman he’s ever met. But he can tell when she’s lying—and when she’s scared. The key to catching a sadistic madman lies within a long-buried cold case that has haunted Mia for years. Only she can uncover the truth, but first, Ric will have to get her to entrust him with her secrets . . . and her life.