Lord of the Abyss Re-release

Have you read LORD OF THE ABYSS? I wrote it as part of a series with three other authors, but it stands fully alone too, if you just want to ready Micah and Lily's story. I LOVE this book!! It's a dark fantasy with a hero who is both adorable and very, very dangerous. If you do decide to grab it, the cover will be different depending on your location. 

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!!

Lord of the Abyss, Engelsblut & Friday Book Club

Some great news! Lord of the Abyss hit both the New York Times and the USA Today Bestseller lists. Thank you everyone!

Also, it looks like Micah and Liliana's story is currently discounted to $2.99 (ebook), so if you haven't picked up a copy, here's your chance: Kindle, B&N

As Eva mentioned in the comments to an earlier post, you can grab a gorgeous wallpaper featuring the cover art from "Engelsblut" (Archangel's Consort) from my German publisher, Lyx.  I've got a small image of it on the right.

And, if you're on Facebook, Lyx is giving away some signed copies Engelsblut. Check out their Facebook page for details.

Onto the book club! What are you reading and loving at the moment? I'm deep in deadline mode, and hanging with the SnowDancer gang...oh, and a couple of Arrows you might know. ;-)

Lord of the Abyss Now Out!

Micah and Liliana's story is now out! I hope you all enjoy it. 

Here's a review of the book from Saiqa, who often comments on the blog.

Short and sweet: A Review of Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

First of  all can I just say how cool the title is.  I’ve always liked the titles of Nalini’s books.  This book is about Liliana and Micah.  It uses the beauty and the beast fairytale as its foundation.  The twist is that it is the woman who is physically ‘ugly’.  I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about this at first because it’s not something I’m used to.  However it was nice to have a heroine who wasn’t perfect and worried about her appearance.  The part I especially sympathised with was her beaky nose.  I have always despaired over my far from perfect nose.

As well as being based on the beauty and the beast theme, this book is the final in a quartet series by different authors.  I devoured the first one as it was from my other favourite author Gena Showalter.  However I admit to missing the middle two.  This book works great as a stand-alone though as Nalini fills you in with her usual efficient manner.  This is another reason Nalini is my favourite author; she does not ramble on.

So to try and write this without too much waffling; Liliana goes searching for Micah and finds him.  He is the lord of the abyss read the book if you want to know what that is ). She is the daughter of the sorcerer who killed Micah’s parents when he was a small child and seized their kingdom Elden ( yes that’s right, they’re royals).  Due to the spell Micah’s mother cast to protect her children, they were all scattered to different places and Micah has no memory of who he is or of the curse he is under. Liliana is on an undercover mission to help Micah remember his real identity and to get him back to Elden to fight her evil evil father before the deadline on the curse is reached and all are doomed.  Phew, that was kind of hard to explain, especially without giving away any spoilers.

My favourite parts of this story were the fairy-tale aspect, Micah’s cool black armour, the forbidding castle ( I just love castles full stop ) and the two secondary characters who kind of remind me of the candlestick and the clock ? in the Disney version ( was I hallucinating or were they really there?) I also loved the ending; happy ever after does it for me everytime!  My least favourite parts of the story; there weren’t any.  The heroine was brave, the hero was an alpha male and the villain was evil incarnate.  All in all, a delicious story.  You will probably gulp it all in one go, like I did!

P.S: I have seen there is some criticism of the ending in other reviews, but to me the ending was perfect. I don’t think we had to see more of the other siblings as it wasn’t their book. The focus was on Liliana and Micah, as it should be.

By Saiqa.

Amazon, B&N, BookDepo, B-A-M, Chapters, Powells, eHarlequin
Kindle, Nook

Lord of the Abyss Excerpt & Release Dates!

First, a little glimpse of Micah and Liliana:

Shaking his head to erase that haunting voice that made things in his chest tear and break, he stared at Liliana, spoke in the gentle tone that made the villagers tremble. “Where’s my breakfast?” He ran the sharp tips of his gauntlet along her jaw. “I do not smell meat.”
    “Your breakfast is right here,” she said, her face going white…but she didn’t back down. “And it’s quite delicious, as you’d know if you’d stop trying to terrify me.” Reaching out, she touched him, her hand curving over the black armor of his upper arm. “Please sit.”
    He was so startled that anyone dared touch him, he obeyed without realizing what he was doing. When he would’ve snarled, she seduced him into silence by serving him bread studded with fruit and sprinkled with honey and sugar and…cinnamon.
    This time, when the scent threatened to ensorcel him, he fought it.

From Lord of the Abyss

If you'd like to read some more short excerpts, check out this great review at Heroes and Heartbreakers.

As promised, here's the complete release date information for Lord of the Abyss. 

North America 

The single paperback edition is now out! 

Amazon, B&N, BookDepo, B-A-M
Chapters, IndBnd, eHarlequin, Powells

Paperback and ebook duo edition (with a copy of Desert Warrior my first ever published book), out November 22nd.

Amazon, B&N, BookDepo, B-A-M, Chapters, Powells, eHarlequin
Kindle, Nook

Single ebook edition

Adobe format - out as an early release from eHarlequin
Kindle/Nook - out December 1st

UK 

January 2012 

Australia/NZ

Australia is publishing the first two titles (Gena and Jill) in January 2012 and the second two titles (Jessica and me) in March 2012. 

Lord of the Abyss

I'm blogging about the dark, dangerous and delicious hero from Lord of the Abyss today at the Paranormal Romance blog. Swing by and say hi!

I'll have complete release info for you tomorrow. :-)

Lord of the Abyss & Friday Book Club

If you're a reviewer, blogger, librarian or in the media, you can now ask for a review copy of Lord of the Abyss from NetGalley. 

If you don't fall into any of those categories, never fear. I'll attempt to get my hands on some early copies to give away on the blog. I'll also get an excerpt up soon, so you can have a sneak peak at Micah and Liliana.

This book will release in two editions. One will be Lord of the Abyss by itself, while the second edition will be Lord of the Abyss plus Desert Warrior, my first ever published book.

I'll let you know once the excerpt is up!

Onto the book club - what are you reading and loving this week?

Lord of the Abyss and the Royal House of Shadows

Look! A cool new trailer for the Royal House of Shadows continuity!

Here's a little bit of background about the series. Once we (Gena, Jill, Jessica and I) knew that we'd be writing it together, we brainstormed the idea for the world via e-mail, set out the rules, and then each of us went away and wrote our books. So the individual stories were left totally up to each author, as we all had our own ideas for our particular characters - what ties the four books together is the continuing backstory.

We talked to each other constantly through the process to ensure that that backstory/overall storyline remained coherent. Also, since the world developed and gained more detail as we wrote, we kept one another in the loop re changes, and discussed anything in each of our books that might impact the others.

I'm looking forward to reading the series as a whole and seeing it all come together!

You can read more about the series and Lord of the Abyss at the Royal House of Shadows site.

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?

Micah

Who is Micah? The hero of Lord of the Abyss, part of a Silhouette Nocturne continuity* I'm participating in with Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe and Jessica Andersen.

I didn't want to mention it until I was sure of the release date, but it looks like the book will release at the end of this year, so you're going to get a bonus release from me!

I'll have more info to share in the next couple of months!

*Four authors, one world.