Linkage

I hope you're all having a great day. A couple of links for you:

Ace/ROC editor Anne Sowards is doing her Spring Preview and Giveaway on Dear Author, talking about upcoming books, and giving away a number of advanced copies.

Operation Auction, set up in support of a member of the romance community, is underway. Lots of goodies still up for grabs, so check it out.

Good News & A Kiss

I've just returned from the fantastic Australian Romance Readers Convention in Sydney, Australia. I had a wonderful time. It was awesome to meet so many of you. :-)

I'm very happy to share that Bonds of Justice won the award for Favorite Paranormal Romance, and Archangel's Kiss for the Favorite SF, Futuristic or Urban Fantasy Romance. The Psy/Changeling series won the award for the Favorite Continuing Romance Series!

Photos to come when I've had a chance to download them. Today, I have the Kiss of Snow excerpt I promised as part of my DABWAHA campaign. Archangel's Kiss is now one of the final four books remaining. Thanks for the support everyone and I hope you're having fun playing!

Enjoy the excerpt!

Excerpt from KISS OF SNOW by Nalini Singh

Berkley Sensation - May 31st

“Again, none of your business.” Refusing to be intimidated, she glanced over his shoulder. “Excuse me, my ride’s here.”

Hawke stepped sideways to block her. “No.”

Her body threatened to lock her into place, so strong was the impact of him. Only her fury kept her going. “Move.”

Ignoring her command, he continued to hold her gaze with that wild wolf one even as he directed his next words to Judd, who’d just hopped out of the SUV. “Where are you taking her?”

“We were heading down to see Sascha, but I’ve just had a contact I need to chase up fast.” Judd looked at Sienna. “Okay if we delay this till tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“No need.” Hawke smiled and held his hand back for the keys. “I can drive her to the cats.”

Sienna stared at Judd, sending him telepathic messages that seemed to go unheard. “No, that’s fine,” she said out loud. “I can wai—”

But Judd was already handing Hawke the keys. “Better you go down tonight,” he said. “Since the visit’s been cleared with Sascha’s security.”

“I can drive,” she pointed out through gritted teeth to the wolf blocking her way. “Judd was only coming with me because he wanted to take part in the discussion.” She held out a hand. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

To her shock, it was Judd who stopped her escape attempt. “It’s late. You’ve never driven this route in the dark—and it’ll be darker still by the time you head back.”

What is wrong with you?! she telepathed. I cannot be in a car alone with him. Especially when those ice-blue eyes had gone slightly aglow.

Deal with it. It was a pitiless response. If you need that to be an order from a lieutenant, then consider it done.

She clenched her jaw, but no way in hell was she about to disobey an order and bring her maturity into question yet again. So either she allowed Hawke to drive, or she stayed put. It was tempting to seize the latter option, but not only did she want to see Sascha, she would not give Hawke the satisfaction of knowing he’d derailed her plans. “I’ll wait in the car.”

She was ensconced in the passenger seat, her wireless speaker buds in her ears, by the time Hawke finished talking with Judd and got into the driver’s seat. He didn’t say anything until he’d turned the SUV around and they were on their way. Then he leaned over and pulled out the bud on his side.

“Hey!”

But he’d managed to grab the tiny music player from her lap, too, throwing it over his shoulder into the backseat. “I don’t like being ignored.”

Copyright (c) 2011 by Nalini Singh

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books. What are you reading and loving this week?

p.s. I'm off to the Australian Romance Readers Convention, and so looking forward to it! See some of you there!
p.p.s. Don't forget to vote for Archangel's Kiss in the DABWAHA! The third round of voting is currently underway. 

News!! Guild Hunter Series

I'm very excited to share that I'll be writing four more Guild Hunter books. No release dates yet, but I thought you'd all like to know that there will be at least four more books set in the Guild Hunter world.

I'll probably talk about who the next book is going to be about sometime near the end of this year. Before I dive into that book, I'll be writing a novella about Galen and Jessamy. :-)

Laughter

I saw this on YouTube and it made me laugh - he's just so infectious and adorable. I dare you to hold out. :-) :-)

Tuesday

I hope you're all having a great start to the week. I've had a little bit of a break after turning in Archangel's Blade, but I'm back at work now on the next Psy/Changeling book. More info to come later.

The DABWAHA Second Chance Tourney is open if your original bracket didn't survive rounds one and two. Round three will start soon, and Archangel's Kiss is up again, so keep an eye out.

The wind is roaring outside today - it's a good day to be inside with a cup of tea and my laptop. :-)

Also, I haven't posted a Bollywood song for a while, so here's one for you. Hands up if you want to be able to dance like that?!

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books! What are you reading and loving at the moment?
 

Lord of the Abyss, Art, Stories & More!

This might be a long post - I have so much interesting news to share! 

First, my gorgeous cover for Lord of the Abyss! You can read the backcover blurb on the website.

Talking about lickable abs (or was that just me *g*), I'll be posting the cover for Archangel's Blade soon, so keep an eye out!

The voting in the DABWAHA has begun! Make sure you vote for your favorites. *coughArchangel'sKisscough* New polls go up every 12 hours.

The website has just had a major update, including with a new short story, and the first set of wallpapers, banners and icons for you to use. If you go to the home page, and look on the right hand side, you'll see the total list of updates. Here's the banner - isn't it gorgeous?

DABWAHA & Oddshots

Archangel's Kiss has been nominated in the DABWAHA - make sure you all fill in your brackets. The prizes are awesome.

And when the voting rounds begin, why, I might be giving away some prizes if Archangel's Kiss wins. ;-) Everything's fair in the DABWAHA - speaking of which, check out my Oddshots post.

Kiss of Snow ARC Winners

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest! I hope you all enjoy Kiss of Snow when it releases! 

I was able to give away more than 5 ARCs - here are the winners.  Congratulations! All the winners have been emailed.

Erin T.

H Waston

Anna-Lisa

YzhaBella

Sophie T.

Anna S.

Priya S.

Sarah Z.

Ellen C.

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

Friday Book Club

Time to talk books! What are you reading and loving this week?

p.s. The emails to the winners of the ARC contest have gone out. Names will be up tomorrow, but if anyone wants to out themselves, feel free. :)

 

Updates

The Kiss of Snow ARC Contest is now closed. We had well over a thousand entries!! Good luck everyone. :-)

Also, the website will be updated soon. There shall be a nice surprise. I'll let you know once the updates are complete.

I hope you're all having a great week. What are you up to?

Archangel's Blade

I've turned in Archangel's Blade! I loved seeing beneath the surface of Dmitri, dark, dangerous creature that he is, and learning about the (fascinating) woman strong enough to take him on. I can't wait to share their story with you all!

For now, here's the backcover blurb! Excerpt to come a little later.

ARCHANGEL'S BLADE

September 2011

Berkley Sensation

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh is back in the shadows of a deadly, beautiful world where angels rule, vampires serve, and one female hunter must crawl out of the darkness to survive…

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past…but Dmitri’s need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel’s right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality…the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting…and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more…

Friday Book Club

It's time to talk books! 

I want to mention Julie James' A Lot Like Love, which has just been released. I was lucky enough to read it early, and absolutely loved it! Julie writes the most wonderful characters. If you like contemporary romance, definitely check this one out.

Here's the blurb. You can read an excerpt on Julie's website.

The FBI wants her cooperation.

As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city’s top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there’s only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother’s release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

Agent McCall just wants her.

As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This “date” with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment—one they’re both determined to pull off even if they can’t be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick’s investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they’re a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more. .

Okay, your turn! What are you reading and loving this week?

Kiss of Snow ARC Contest

Contest now closed.

Oooh, pretty!!!!

If you'd like to go in the random draw to win one of five Advanced Reading/Review Copies of Kiss of Snow, send an e-mail to naliniDOTassistantATgmailDOTcom with "Kiss of Snow ARC Contest" in the subject line by by 7pm Thursday March 10th, 2011, New Zealand time.

Edited to add: Please follow the correct format for entry re the subject line, so your e-mail goes into the right in-box. Thanks!

(Your e-mail will only be used to contact you should you win.)

Since these are Advanced Reading/Review Copies, if you win, I'd ask that you please post a review somewhere, on or before the release date (May 31st, 2011) - on a blog, on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads...it's up to you, but it would be much appreciated if you'd post your thoughts somewhere. The contents of the review are, of course, totally up to you, but I would request that you not share any major spoilers until after the book is out.

A note about the ARC - it's substantially the same as the final book, but since ARCs are printed prior to the final round of edits, there are some errors in the text that aren't in the final book. 

I'll give each winner 48 hours to respond to the email indicating they've won. If I don't hear back within that time, I'll redraw. By entering, you give me permission to post your name on the blog should you win.

The fine print: Contest is open internationally. One entry per household. No purchase necessary to enter. Winner will be chosen randomly using random.org and his or her name(s) posted on this blog on Saturday, March 12th, 2011. Void where prohibited.

Contest now closed.

Excerpts

I'm over at Oddshots today, talking about excerpts. Do you like being teased? Or do you prefer to avoid temptation? Come join in the discussion. :-)