Happy Birthday Desert Warrior

 

Twenty years ago this August, Desert Warrior made me a debut author. 

I wrote DW in a small notebook in whatever snatches of time I could manage, always aware that I was fighting a hard battle. Getting published when I began was difficult in the first place, and I was a young woman with no connections whatsoever who was submitting from a tiny dot of a country called New Zealand. 

I didn’t even know any writers in real life when I started. They were just names on books from faraway places.

The slush pile back then was a literal pile of paper, my submissions just one among thousands, tens of thousands.

I still tried anyway. Because we deserve to fight for our dreams. 

Then one day, a young editorial assistant named Diane wrote me back about a submission…and a year or so later, as an assistant editor, she bought DW. (Hi Diane! Thank you for being my first editor (and for one of the best phone calls of my life!))

I’ve now published millions of words across multiple series, but what drives me today is the same thing that drove the determined dreamer of a kid I once was: the love of writing, of stories, of books.

Thank you to every single one of you for reading my stories, whether you found me twenty years ago or today. You’re the reason that kid with stars in her eyes can live her dream. xo

Happy 20th birthday Tariq and Jasmine. 

Harlequin Ebook Reissue: Australia and New Zealand

The short contemporary books I wrote for my previous publisher, Harlequin, are getting a cover facelift and being reissued in Australia & New Zealand come December.

This will be in ebook format, as they weren't previously all available in this region as ebooks.   

Readers in the USA & Internationally: These are likely all already available in your region as ebooks. If not and you'd like them to be, leave a comment and I'll pass it on to the publisher.

Below are the new covers, with blurbs and links to excerpts. As I said with the previous reissue, I love these books and always will, but they were written at the start of my career, so just keep that in mind. I was going to title this post, Vintage Nalini but that makes me feel oooooold! I hope you enjoy the books if you decide to try them.

There is a more recent paranormal in amongst the reissues. That would be Lord of the Abyss. No, I don't know why he is wearing a tie. I don't think ties exist in Micah's world and even if they did, he'd probably feed his to the hungry little dragon at the end. Just go with it. ;-)

LORD OF THE ABYSS
Excerpt Link

Once upon a time…the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs…and time is running out.…

As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows—the daughter of his enemy.

Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who'd cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Note from Nalini: Micah and Lily are seriously adorable together. ADORABLE. Micah is a big, bad, dangerous hero who has somehow retained his innocence -  and though this was part of a series written with three other authors, Lord of the Abyss can be read on its own without problems.

DESERT WARRIOR
Excerpt Link

The fabled desert kingdom of Zulheina was Tariq's birthright, and he was a man who held tightly what belonged to him. And that meant he had to reclaim a very special woman—the woman who had broken his heart years before in New Zealand. And once he had lured her to this distant land, he meant to keep his new bride here forever…

But Jasmine Coleridge was not as easily tamed as he had imagined. Her beguiling blend of untouched innocence and dazzling sensuality threatened, once again, to bring the haughty sheikh to his knees—and made him wonder who was the true prisoner…

Note from Nalini: My very first published book! I think of this as my sheik fairytale romance.


AWAKEN TO PLEASURE
Excerpt Link

The proposal was as unexpected as her feelings for the man whose dark good looks rivaled an even darker past. Painful experience screamed that Taylor Reid should run far and fast from Jackson Santorini. But keeping custody of her brother meant becoming her former boss's bride. And giving Jackson a baby.

Despite his powerful size and presence, Jackson had been wounded… deeply… by a woman. Yet he'd protected her at a personal cost, if his restrained ardor in deference to her virginal apprehension was one indication. Suddenly, for Jackson's sake, Taylor wanted to replace pain with pleasure. Only, she'd never imagined what sensations—and secrets—she would awaken…

Note from Nalini: Jackson is a gorgeous caretaker alpha - a big, tough guy who's a sweetheart to the heroine.

AWAKEN THE SENSES
Excerpt Link

 He knew her every fantasy…

Charlotte Ashton had never belonged anywhere—until she met worldly Alexandre Dupree. The winemaker was consulting at her family's vineyard, and soon shy Charlotte was completely under his spell. He seemed to know all her secret desires, all her dreams—as if he'd been put on earth just for her pleasure.

Alexandre seduced Charlotte in all the ways she had fantasized about. He'd read her secret journal and discovered the real Charlotte—the sensual lover, the generous woman, the vulnerable virgin. Was his crime so unforgivable when all he'd wanted was her love? Yet now to maintain her trust, he would have to continue to lie…

Note from Nalini:  This book was written as part of a 12 book continuity series. So 12 authors, 12 stories, with an interconnected backstory. The romance stands on its ows and there is a happy ever after in this book, but there are some backstory elements that connect to stories by the other 11 authors.

CRAVING BEAUTY
Excerpt Link

Marc was dangerous to her in the way that only a strong, sexy male could be to a woman. 

Even knowing that, she'd agreed to marry him. Hope blossomed in Hira's heart. Perhaps she'd married a man with whom it might just be worth building a life. Her mother had worried that he was scarred, but the lines on his face did nothing to lessen his raw masculine appeal. If anything, they gave him an even more dangerous male air, enticing the feminine core of her to thoughts that shocked her.

What did a man's face matter anyway? She had no use for handsome men.
But for a man with a heart? For such a man…she might risk everything.

Note from Nalini: I really wanted to go back to Zulheil, my fairytale sheik kingdom from Desert Warrior, and I kind of did that in this book. The heroine is from Zulheil and the hero from Louisiana - the first time I set a book in the state. As evidenced by Angel's Wolf, it clearly became a lifelong love affair. :-)
 
SECRETS IN THE MARRIAGE BED
Excerpt Link

Every marriage has its secrets.

They were reconciling. That was all Caleb Callaghan could focus on when his estranged wife, Vicki, shared the news of her pregnancy. He was determined that this time, the marriage would succeed, no matter what it took.

But was Vicki’s price too high? She wanted more than his love and support…she demanded honesty between them, starting with his secrets. But there was something in Caleb’s past he could not—would not—share. For the truth would only destroy them.

Note from Nalini: I wrote this because I wondered what would happen if the story began after the happy ever after - what if the perfect fairy tale had a few cracks?

BOUND BY MARRIAGE
Excerpt Link
 
A Deal With The Devil...

How else to describe the pact Jessica Randall had made with wealthy New Zealand rancher Gabe Dumont? In exchange for marriage and an heir, he would save her family property. The agreement was calculating, completely devoid of any tenderness, just like the man himself.

Their relationship was supposed to be a simple arrangement. Instead, it was fraught with secrets and mistrust, jealousy and ultimatums - emotions that wouldn't allow her to maintain the distance she needed. Worse, the sizzling attraction between them made this marriage of convenience decidedly inconvenient.

Note from Nalini: This will make you cry. It still makes me cry. It's angsty and angry and emotionally dark. So grab some tissues if you decide to read this one.

If you have any questions, let me know!!