Hot Hallween Heroes Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Hot Halloween Heroes Giveaway Hop! This hop will run October 29th - November 4th and will be filled with yummy hot hallween heroes! 

 

 

What are you playing for? 

 

Five winners will each receive a copy of my adult rated historical vampire novel, Can I Keep You 


Can I Keep You features vampire Kane who picks up heroine Laura in a taven with nothing more on his mind than a night of fun followed by a human snack. Things don't go quite to plan, but is it really possible for a human to tame a vampire?

When Kane picks up a runaway on the streets of Victorian England his only thought is to have a few days of amusement and a decent meal. He is a vampire, after all – it's what he does. But Laura has to be the most unconvincing whore he's ever met. She soon finds out that there are ways other than brute force and strength to bring a vampire to his knees. As time passes, she becomes the catalyst for his journey of redemption, bringing back all-too-painful memories of Harry, the gentle man he once was. It's not an easy road. Along the way they encounter forces of evil that have other plans for Laura and Kane. And the question neither of them really wants to answer hovers in the background. Does he turn her into a vampire like himself and risk losing her? Or will a human lifetime together be enough?

Excerpt

Neither of them spoke as the carriage clattered through the night. Soon Laura was aware that there were fewer houses and they’d left the town behind. Lights no longer shone comfortingly from parlour windows. She huddled further into the corner of the padded seat, a terrible sense of foreboding settling over her.

The man called Kane, her dubious rescuer, sat opposite, little more than a dark shape. His features were obscured by shadow, but she felt him watching her, as if by some diabolical means, he could see in the dark. Hadn’t she already thought him the devil back in the alleyway when he’d killed the sailor? Snapped his neck as if it were a mere twig?

The memory made her shrink back and pull her torn dress together to hold it in place. Perhaps she wasn’t imagining his quiet scrutiny. Slowly, she shifted her legs so they no longer brushed against his while he sprawled comfortably back. When he made no move to touch her she closed her eyes and steeled herself for the task ahead. A task she had never imagined would be so difficult.

Yes, he looked and smelled much better than the sailor and had saved her from possibly the worst experience of her life. Still a man, though. One whose money she had accepted and who would now expect his due. Clenching her fist around the coins, she hoped they would be sufficient to buy her a new gown. If her appearance were more presentable she might ensnare a rich man in search of a mistress and this life may not be so terrible after all. It didn’t seem so when she considered the alternative.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the carriage coming to a halt. She leaned anxiously towards the window to see where they’d arrived.

“Not there yet.” Kane made no move to get up. “Stopping to open the gates.”

The action was repeated on the other side and the carriage lurched forward once more, jolting her out of her seat. She would have fallen had Kane’s arm not moved, with incredible speed, to steady her. He caught her by the forearm in an iron grip that made her flinch. Immediately he loosened his fingers and she pulled away scooting back into the seat once more and wondering, with a sinking heart, exactly what she’d let herself in for. Here was a man who knew what he wanted and would take without question.

You can read the first 9 chapters free here. Go to the files section and click the C A Nicks file.

 

 

 

How To Enter This Giveaway

1. Fill in at least ONE option on the Rafflecopter form. Winners will be picked using the form so follow the directions.

2. If you'd like extra chances to win, feel free to do the additional task.

This Giveaway is International and opens October 29th - November 4th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click on any of the following blogs for more chances to win!

The Joy of Antique Auctions

Oh, the joy of antique auctions. Spent all day monday at one and emerged at the end of the day with Stockholm syndrome, I'd been in that room for so long. Addictive fun, though. Snagged a solid gold Omega ladies' watch at a steal of a price. Only problem is I don't want to resell it because it's so pretty, even though I know I can make a profit. I was good though and only bid on things I actually wanted or could resell. Unlike my first auction where I accidentally bought a clock so hideous (it only cost £8, that was my excuse) I had to smuggle it from the car to the dustbin lest anyone see my folly. I did manage to turn around the other two purchases for a profit, though, which made up for it somewhat. The trick is to be really disciplined, go to the previews and decide your top price in advance. Sometimes that top price depends on how much you want the item (mainly collectors) and how much you think you can resell it for (mainly dealers). And stick within your area of expertise (mine is jewellery and watches). But once you've been to an auction, you never pay dealer price again. A £30 painting will be in some antique store the next day for £150. A £85 branded vintage watch will be on ebay for £200, that's how it goes.Or it should if you can stop yourself falling in love with what you buy.

The Cursed Princess - Free on amazon this Weekend

My new Italian island contemp (with a hint of the mystical) series is free on all amazon outlets for this weekend only ((9th and 10th June). If you like billionaires, romance, beautiful scenery and matchmaking cats (who's really a cursed princesses) then grab yourself a copy. If anyone has time to leave a review telling others what they thought of the story, that would be great.

Blurb

Billionaire Dario Denaro hasn't come to the Island of Sorellina to fall in love again. He's here to oversee the renovation of Villa Cristina, the most exclusive of the Denaro residences. And Elena Marcante, who's on the island to visit her ailing grandmother, certainly doesn't expect to run into the man who left her twenty years ago without a word of goodbye. But Cristina the cat has other ideas. Once the most noble Princess Cristina Denaro, she was cursed by her jealous lover, Bernardo Marcante, to live as a humble cat until a Denaro and a Marcante declare undying love. But after five hundred years and with the family feud still running deep, Cristina is desperate, while Bernardo's spirit lurks in the ruins of the old temple wracked with remorse for what he did to her.
Dario and Elena are no longer a pair of love-struck teens, but will they remember that magical summer they spent together? With hope of ever breaking the curse fading and with a few family secrets revealed along the way, Cristina is determined the medieval cathedral bells will finally ring out for the union of a Denaro and a Marcante.

Rating - mildly sensual

Find it at amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

amazon.de

amazon.fr

amazon.es

amazon.it

A Passion For Gemstones - Worldbuilding My new Island of Sorellina romance series

No secret that I'm passionate about gemstones. From their origins in the earth to their cutting and setting in beautiful jewellery it's a subject that fascinates me. So I was determined to include some aspect of them into my new Island of Sorellina romance series. Wasn't hard when the first story includes billionaire Dario Denaro. The Denaro fortune is based on gem mining and jewellery retail so I get to indulge my passion in words, which is very exciting. I'm planning a series of blog posts about the background of the stories, so I thought I'd start with the gems mentioned in The Cursed Princess.

I tried taking some pictures of my own pieces but sadly taking pictures of reflective material is difficult so I've taken examples from around the web and tried to credit where I can.

Denaro Enterprises own several small mines on Sorellina which in the past have yielded mostly gold and obsidian. The gold mine is all but played out, but they still mine obsidian which is a kind of volcanic glass-like rock that is usually black, but occasionally other colours present. Inclusions in the rock can result in colours such as red, blue, orange or yellow, but these are rarer. Most people might be familiar with snowflake obsidian which is exactly as described, dark and glassy and looking as if peppered with snowflakes. Strange uses of obsidian apart from jewellery and sculptural objects include as an object of trade in eras past and as cutting blades in surgical scalpels due to the fact that it can be honed to a sharp edge. I image Denaro Enterprises use their obsidian to carve mostly into exclusive perfume bottles and objects such as bowls and spheres. Here are a few examples.

An obsidian and glass bowl.

Obsidian sphere

Sapphire is a form of corundum and found in various colours ranging from shocking pinks to dark blues. A well known and popular gemstone from the same family as ruby. Red corundum is named ruby and any other colour becomes a sapphire. In The Cursed Princess, Dario is India on the trail of a new source of corundum with a colour said to rival Kashmire blue when his truck leaves the road. A hard and highly wearable gemstone, precious colours include Kashmir blue and Ceylon blue. There is also a colour change variety of sapphire.

A kashmire blue sapphire, image credited to http://uk.images.

Ruby is another of my favourite gemstones, the definitive colour being pigeon blood red, which if you can add Burma to the provenance will make for a valuable gemstone. As said above the red form of corundum and to me the embodiment of passion and love in a gemstone (despite what the diamond marketers would have us believe). A very rare and precious ruby necklace makes an appearance in The Cursed Princess.

My impossible to photograph Edwardian ruby ring with Chester assay hallmark. Nice bit of bling...

Dario Denaro is woken at three in the morning by his mine manager after the discovery of a new gemstone that is not only trichroic (showing three different colours depending on the viewing angle) but also has colour change properties (the colour changes depending on the type of light hitting the gemstone.) Combined with being single mine (ie, only found in one location on earth) this would be a very exciting discovery indeed. Gems mentioned in reference are Tanzanite, Zultanite and Alexandrite. I'm lucky enough to own tanzanite, sapphire, ruby and alexandrite, but haven't got my mitts on a zultanite yet. So, what's so special about these particular gemstones?


Tanzanite set the gem world astorm when it was discovered in the 1960's in the Merelani hills in Tanzania and shrewdly marketed by Tiffanys. Tanzanite starts out life as zoisite which is a dull green/brown in it's natural state (although occasionally a natural zoisite can be quite dazzling with a mixture of beautiful greens, blues and purples. I own a beautiful faceted one but couldn't photograph it to do it justice) but when heated can produce the most stunning blues and purples. Henry Platt of Tiffanys saw a few faceted examples and coined the name tanzanite which was of course more marketable than zoisite. In The Cursed Princess Dario coins the Term Elanite for his new gemstone thinking that marketing will love it. Tanzanite has a lot going for it as an exclusive gemstone. Only found in one small area on the earth, it's trichroic which means good samples show flashes of blues, violets and reds and it was originally brought to the public attention by one of the premier jewellery retail outlets, Tiffanys. Graded by an A star system, with quadruple AAAA being the most exclusive right down to ungraded. Tanzanite is a beautiful gemstone and one of my favourites. They have no idea how much is left in that small area and there is already talk of it being a one generation gemstone. For a Tanzania connection in my story I had Dario climb Mount Kilimanjaro the year he became heir to the Denaro fortune.

tanzanite ring - could find a linkback to credit but the image is used for illustration purposes only

Alexandrite was named for Tsar Alexander, reputedly being discovered on the day he came of age so the lore goes in the Ural mountains some 200 years ago. It's a type of chrysoberyl that benefits from rarity (russian alexandrite is all but mined out and commands top dollar on the market) and from being a colour change gemstone, just like the Elanite in my story. My alexandrite is probably my favourite piece in my collection and changes from ruby red in incandescent light (candllight is good for showing this) to emerald green in natural daylight. Other sources of the gem include mines in India, Africa and Brazil. I imagine Denaro's has an exclusive collection of antique and vintange Russian alexandrite for their clients.

Original image credited to http://www.gehnabazaar.com/gemstones/28/alexandrite.html

Zultanite is another colour change gemstone with the added benefit of rarity and from being mined from a single deposit in Turkey where to date the only gem quality version of this gemstone has been found. It's a form of diaspore renamed Zultanite by Zurat Akgum, another example of a gemstone being given a marketable name, like the Elanite in my story. Diaspore has been found elsewhere in the world but apparently not in gem quality, yet. Zultanite colour changes goes from champagne in natural daylight to pinkish in in candescent light.

Zultanite, example from www.thejewellerycafe.com

And of course we can't forget the ubiquitous Diamond. A form of carbon, one of the hardest gemstones on the planet, lending it to both industrial and jewellery uses, and not quite as rare as the marketing men would have us believe, flawless diamonds nevertheless command top dollar in the market. Graded on the four c's, which stand for cut, clarity, colour and carat weight. Given a lot of prestige by a marketing campaign that associated diamonds with love and courtship. Without going into politics, it's one of the most successful marketing campaigns to date with one of the most memorable slogans - a diamond is forever. I'll just add that heapings of guilt and cartels were involved in making diamonds the stone of choice for engagement rings and leave it at that. The Elizabeth Taylor diamond recently sold at Christies for nine million dollars. Of course, a spectacular diamond makes an appearance in The Cursed Princess.

The Krupp diamond renamed The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond by Christies
For more information and the source of this picture go to http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/kruppdiamond.html

I've thoroughly enjoyed writing the gemstones into the story and Elanite will be making another appearance when Stella Denaro gets her own story. She will be visiting the mine on Sorellina to find out what's scaring the miners and why they're refusing to extract any more stones till the "demon of the mine" is sent on its way. Of course, she has a history with Mauro, the mine manager who doesn't believe the legends of the guardian of the gemstone....


The Cursed Princess is available from amazon.com and all other amazon outlets. When I have the official cover I'll be releasing it on other outlets like Barnes and Noble, iphone etc via smashwords. 

How to be an Kindle, Nook, Kindlette, Nookette, etc Millionaire

Writing a nice story these days just doesn't cut it in the world of indie freedom and universal publication. Many authors, including me, dream of that big break and the yacht, etc, but then we go back to writing our stories, well written stories, we hope, with great plots and characters, well edited, nice covers...

So why aren't we kindle millionaires?

Because these days you don't just have to write a story, you have to write THE STORY (of the moment). Or failing that, you have to be THE AUTHOR (of the moment). And being that is getting harder now the milestones are toppling. We can't be the first indie author to sell a million books on kindle, or the first indie kindle millionaire. You've got to be quick. All those milestones are falling by the day.  Soon we'll be reduced to being the first Kindle author to scale the Empire State Building dressed in a King Kong suit hugging a kindle to our chests roaring, MINE!

So, my guide to being a stand-out indie author? Get out of the middle of that B road road and jump into the gutter. Or, go the whole hog and run screaming down the middle of the freeway. And by the time you get to that someone else will have already done it, so you'll have to go naked, or dressed as some obscure Russian president.

Write a donkey menage book or something similar (because all the other plots have already been done, pretty sure they already did horses and now I come to think of it, didn't Konrath recently do donkey menage?). And even that's sounding oh so pedestrian by today's standards. That better have nuns in it or I'm not even picking it up. But you get my drift? Controversy sells, even implied controversy. Stick a teen on an island with a cougarette and people will read just because, you know, the author might go there. You will never regret including that orgy down at the OAP bingo session in K Mart, believe me.

Why even bother wasting brain cells on thinking up your own controversial subject. This is where fast writers come into their own. Simply emulate the latest block buster and practice that innocent look when people cry, rip off! Who me?

Create something entirely new. This is the hardest of them all but oh my the golden eggs this goose will lay.

Be the first author to... and yes, I am sitting here typing in my King Kong suit.

Or be the first -insert famous title, job description, sport etc - to write a novel. Politician, jockey, they've all been done. I don't know, be the first gravedigger to write a romance. Be creative. And yes, it's okay to lie through your teeth about this. Internet, who's to know?

Write a character so off the wall, so sexy, so interesting that people want to be them, bonk them, kidnap them for their own nefarious purposes, etc. In romance Jamie Fraser, Alexander Belov and Jericho Barrons (grr, woof) come to mind. To stand out, that's the bar, I'm afraid. And it's a high one.

For the really desperate there's always La La land. That wonderful place where you're already successful, the money is rolling in so fast you need asistants to catch it for you with big nets and you lie on a couch with your little dog dictating stories to a secretary.

And of course there's the trillion dollar question on every author's lips. Would you compromise all those lofty writer principles for a piece of Fifty Shades success? Puts up hand sheepishly with dear husband poking me in the back with a big stick. And if any author insists they prefer their garret to the million dollar pay off, I'm going to stick my neck out here and say they may be telling a small porkie.

Writing as C. A Nicks (I'm killing off Candy Nicks the former incarnation in the next few weeks and rebranding to C.A Nicks) and Alexandra Marell. and King Kong.

Stranded With A Bad Boy Romance

I've just re-released my short Alexandra Marell story, Setting Him Free . Stranded with a bad boy in desperate need of redemption - it's my favourite theme for romance, both for writing and reading. I love it when characters are holed up somewhere, in an old dark house or a rainforest jungle, or the classic desert island and have to rely on their own resources, find common ground (which in a romance is of course, wow, he's hot or she's something else!) and then fall in love. Only joking there about the physical attributes, but we can't deny that's part of it. As well as being forced to depend on each other, I think being stuck in a closed situation with someone might make you look a little more closely and see and realise things about the other that maybe you'd miss out in the wide world. And of course, it's a romance so the two people stuck together are exactly what the other needs. This kind of story allows an author to concentrate right down on the emotions and feelings without the distraction of secondary characters. A great variation on the romance genre.

Setting Him Free

As Quality Control Manager for Exotic Resorts Inc., Danielle Radley’s life is one long round of sun, sea and sand. Unfortunately, it also involves airplanes – and Danielle hates flying with a passion. Flying home from a tropical resort, she finds herself sitting across the aisle from an enigmatic man handcuffed to the seat. A man who fascinates her more than he should.

Taylor Bradford is a broken man. Tired of running, he just wants it over. That is until he catches Danielle’s eye on the plane. A moment of instant connection awakens feelings he thought long dead. When the plane gets into difficulty and starts going down into the tropical rainforest below, he reaches for her hand…

Available at amazon.com and all other amazon outlets

Lord of the Dark Fall Fabian's cover

Just got the cover mocks from Pamela Sinclaire, cover artist, for the first of my new fantasy romance series, Lord of the Dark Fall - Fabian's story. Aren't they gorgeous? Thinking I like the close up best. Can't wait to see Marcellus' cover.

Fabian's story is with my editor, now and will be published in June

www.candyandalexandra.com

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Limited time offer, The Moon Child's Wish now 99c!

The Moon Child's Wish, book one in the Moon Child series, (fantasy romance) is on special promo for a short while. If you like strong heroines who aren't afraid to go get their man and hunky heros who'd die for their lady, then now's your chance to give it a try at a bargain price.

This book is one of the first original stories I started and, because I went into publishing and that left me no time to write, it sat on my hard drive until a couple of years ago when I pulled it out and finished it. I've always been fascinated by strong women who aren't afraid to stand up to, or fight for their men. And for warrior types who for all their strengths, need that woman to complement them. Of course, they don't know that until she knocks some sense into him. And she, in turn, isn't afraid to let him save her once in a while. Add in the locked together in a close situation trope and The Moon Child's Wish was well and truly on its way.

On a far distant world, Ancel, Eagle warrior is waylaid on his way back to his settlement and, despite a desperate battle, is taken by slavers and thrown near death into a slave cage. His fellow townsmen turn away from the sight, unable to offer help because to do so would shame an Eagle warrior beyond bearing. An Eagle warrior fights alone. That's what way it's always been done. Until he meets Carine, that is. Carine is a Moon Child whose land borders that of the Eagle tribe, a fierce enemy, but like all her people, a realist rather than a stubborn idealist. When she's thrown into the same slave cage, she knows she'll do anything required to win her freedom, even if it means bonding with her mortal enemy, an Eagle warrior. Using her single wish-in-hand, Carine Saves Ancel's life and bonds herself to him, hoping that in doing so he will take her with him when he tries to escape. He's furious when he finds out what she's done, but, unable to resist the pull of the bonding, has no choice but to throw his lot in with hers. Sold to a decadent clubhouse where they must entertain decadent clientelle on a nightly basis, and growing ever closer, they must both decide what they're prepared to give up to protect the person they love.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing Carine's determination to make Ancel see her as a woman and not as his enemy. And her willingness to make any sacrifices required of her to protect him. Ancel is big, buff and tough but oh so confused by this woman who stormed into his life and refuses to leave. He should hate her and all she stands for, but just can't bring himself to. I love writing the kind of questioning and confusion that leads to the sudden revelation that things will never be the same again. Add in a hint of shapefhifters and a goddess who likes to play with her human subjects and the Moon Child world is established .

The cover art is from the talented Dan Skinner. It came second in the Preditor's and Editor's cover poll (can't remember which year) and in the first week of release, The Moon Child's Wish went to number one on the overall bestseller chart at Fictionwise and stayed there for two weeks. It's book one in a trilogy, Book two being Lupine,which focuses on Ancel's daughter and the Lupine (a wolf/human shapeshifter) who appears injured at the gates of the new settlement. Book three, Tian's Guardian, focuses on Ancel and Carines son, Sol who is ordered by the Goddess to claim Lupine, Tian as his own in order to keep her safe. But of course, she and wolf have other ideas.

You can purchase The Moon Child's wish here...amazon and smashwords both have the reduced price. It takes a while longer for the price reduction to trickle through to Smashwords distributors.

amazon.com  and all other amazon outlets
Smashwords 

Barnes and Noble 
Sony ebookstore
Kobo
ibookstore