Looking Forward and Looking Back
1 year ago
STRIPPED
As a member of the CIA’s elite, Black Opals, Natalya Trubachev must live a lie, working undercover as the lover of Dmitri, a Russian mob boss...
LIE TO ME
After helping to break up a Russian human trafficking ring as part of the CIA’s elite Black Opal team, Alexei Nikanova’s newest assignment is to rescue...
29 February, 2012
22 February, 2012
16 February, 2012
I have another exciting review to share about STRIPPED today!
Happily Ever After reviewed Stripped on January 16th, and made one remark in particular that made me giddy:
"I enjoy having a nice balance between that and in this case, an equally strong suspense plot. And that’s where STRIPPED stood out."
Why would this make me giddy? Because, underneath all the erotic stuff, I am a plotter. I love to plot -- as I mentioned several times on my blog tour, and I am 100% convinced a fully satisfying erotic romance can't just be about the graphic sex.
To have someone compliment the plot, means the world to me!
She also remarked:
"Natalya and Brandon have chemistry that burns up the pages, and I loved their scenes together."
Yay!
To read the full, 4-Star review -- it's really thought out and very informative -- check out Happily Ever After.
Happily Ever After reviewed Stripped on January 16th, and made one remark in particular that made me giddy:
"I enjoy having a nice balance between that and in this case, an equally strong suspense plot. And that’s where STRIPPED stood out."
Why would this make me giddy? Because, underneath all the erotic stuff, I am a plotter. I love to plot -- as I mentioned several times on my blog tour, and I am 100% convinced a fully satisfying erotic romance can't just be about the graphic sex.
To have someone compliment the plot, means the world to me!
She also remarked:
"Natalya and Brandon have chemistry that burns up the pages, and I loved their scenes together."
Yay!
To read the full, 4-Star review -- it's really thought out and very informative -- check out Happily Ever After.
15 February, 2012
09 February, 2012
Stripped Review Under the Covers
I don't know how I neglected to get this up here, but I did.
The fabulous blog site, Under the Covers reviewed STRIPPED on January 1. Francesca rated it 4 Feathers and had the following remarks to share:
"Yes, go ahead and judge this book by its cover, I know I did and was not disappointed. This book is scorchingly hot romantic suspense!!"
"Start your new year with some suspense and plenty of heat! This book was really good and I can't wait for the next one!"
Read her full thoughts on Under the Covers' Blog
The fabulous blog site, Under the Covers reviewed STRIPPED on January 1. Francesca rated it 4 Feathers and had the following remarks to share:
"Yes, go ahead and judge this book by its cover, I know I did and was not disappointed. This book is scorchingly hot romantic suspense!!"
"Start your new year with some suspense and plenty of heat! This book was really good and I can't wait for the next one!"
Read her full thoughts on Under the Covers' Blog
08 February, 2012
04 February, 2012
Virtual Tour Winners
Hi all! Before I get into the winners (which I'm sure, you really don't want me to put off any longer), I want to tell you a few things I learned about Virtual Book Tours.
1. Having two books release on the same day isn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be, after the initial 48 hours. It becomes work then.
2. Putting over 1100 names onto paper and folding them up just to draw a couple out of the pile, even with the help of the eldest demi-demon makes for a surprising way to get blisters on the pads of the fingertips.
3. Meeting deadlines in the middle of two book tours? Hah! Right.
4. There are not enough hours in one day.
5. Planning that project in the middle also? That joins the "hah right" department.
6. I did meet a lot of new faces and had some really interesting discussions. -- BONUS
7. Dust does not quite settle onto the Christmas tree as fast as I thought it might. The stockings, however, are a different story.
8. There are not enough hours in a day.
9. When your internet fails, or the devices that are supposed to connect you to it, during a book tour... then guilt settles in because you can't make appearances. And there's just no way of quite communicating that effectively either. All one can do is make daily stops into different repair shops to get the problems a) troubleshooted, and b) fixed.
10. The administrative side of book tours is not particularly fun -- ie, the part where I have to be the 'business person' not just the author stopping in to chat. "Where can I find my post? Do I have the wrong link up? Oh crap the post I scheduled to go is incorrect." Add that into 51 times of having to do that... I could definitely wait a lifetime to invest in the project a second time. Though it will occur again, before "lifetime" happens :)
11. It's amazing the tolerance level I can develop when it comes to the demidemons and the things I've learned to tune out while attending to necessary business that can't wait until the house is quiet. Simply AMAZING.
12. There are not enough hours in a day.
So... all that said... I did have a blast with the tours. THANK YOU everyone for hosting me, for following, for engaging me in conversation. I hope you'll stay in touch both via my blog here and/or via email.
Now -- the Winners**:
STRIPPED
$25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Yadira yadkny(at)hotmail (dot) com
IMMORTAL HOPE:
#1 -- $25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Terri M oklahomamommy0306 (at) gmail (dot) com
#2 -- $25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Cayce cayce005(at)yahoo(dot)com
TOUR HOST AWARDS
Stripped -- Carrie Ann Ryan
Immortal Hope -- I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read
Bitten By Paranormal Romance Book Giveaway:
Signed STRIPPED -- Lexi -- eyesofblueice(at)gmail(dot)com
**
I will be contacting the above winners to verify sending addresses within the next hour. If your name is listed, and you do not hear from me, email me please -- means there's something wrong with the email address I have on file for you. If you receive the email, you have one week to confirm. Then I will choose a different winner if I haven't heard a response.
Congrats everyone!!
1. Having two books release on the same day isn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be, after the initial 48 hours. It becomes work then.
2. Putting over 1100 names onto paper and folding them up just to draw a couple out of the pile, even with the help of the eldest demi-demon makes for a surprising way to get blisters on the pads of the fingertips.
3. Meeting deadlines in the middle of two book tours? Hah! Right.
4. There are not enough hours in one day.
5. Planning that project in the middle also? That joins the "hah right" department.
6. I did meet a lot of new faces and had some really interesting discussions. -- BONUS
7. Dust does not quite settle onto the Christmas tree as fast as I thought it might. The stockings, however, are a different story.
8. There are not enough hours in a day.
9. When your internet fails, or the devices that are supposed to connect you to it, during a book tour... then guilt settles in because you can't make appearances. And there's just no way of quite communicating that effectively either. All one can do is make daily stops into different repair shops to get the problems a) troubleshooted, and b) fixed.
10. The administrative side of book tours is not particularly fun -- ie, the part where I have to be the 'business person' not just the author stopping in to chat. "Where can I find my post? Do I have the wrong link up? Oh crap the post I scheduled to go is incorrect." Add that into 51 times of having to do that... I could definitely wait a lifetime to invest in the project a second time. Though it will occur again, before "lifetime" happens :)
11. It's amazing the tolerance level I can develop when it comes to the demidemons and the things I've learned to tune out while attending to necessary business that can't wait until the house is quiet. Simply AMAZING.
12. There are not enough hours in a day.
So... all that said... I did have a blast with the tours. THANK YOU everyone for hosting me, for following, for engaging me in conversation. I hope you'll stay in touch both via my blog here and/or via email.
Now -- the Winners**:
STRIPPED
$25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Yadira yadkny(at)hotmail (dot) com
IMMORTAL HOPE:
#1 -- $25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Terri M oklahomamommy0306 (at) gmail (dot) com
#2 -- $25.00 Amazon Gift Card -- Cayce cayce005(at)yahoo(dot)com
TOUR HOST AWARDS
Stripped -- Carrie Ann Ryan
Immortal Hope -- I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read
Bitten By Paranormal Romance Book Giveaway:
Signed STRIPPED -- Lexi -- eyesofblueice(at)gmail(dot)com
**
I will be contacting the above winners to verify sending addresses within the next hour. If your name is listed, and you do not hear from me, email me please -- means there's something wrong with the email address I have on file for you. If you receive the email, you have one week to confirm. Then I will choose a different winner if I haven't heard a response.
Congrats everyone!!
02 February, 2012
Book Boyfriends and More!
There's been a lot of buzz about book boyfriends this year. Who's dangerously hot, who's swoon-worthy sexy, who can make your heart pitter patter with just a simple touch.
In all of my time as a reader, writer, I fell in love with many, many heroes over the years. The one who stands out in my mind today is Ranulf from Johanna Lindsey's "Reina and Ranulf story" -- whose book title I ALWAYS mess up and think of the Georgina and James book. So I just stick with "Reina and Ranulf story". (As you can see the characters stuck in my head.)
I also have a soft spot in my heart for Grey from Maya Banks' Sweet series, and in a completely different vein, I'm still in love with Gandalf from LOTR.
But... I also happen to think Alexei Nikanova from LIE TO ME, my forthcoming Black Opal book is the man of my dreams.
Here's a little peek:
Fury radiated off Alexei’s body in hot waves as he forcibly ushered Sasha through a white painted door, into a spacious suite at the Palazzo Vecchietti. He kept going through the living area, past the rich plum-colored furniture, and into the bedroom. His heel connected with the door, sending it slamming shut so forcefully a painting on the wall rattled. Sasha didn’t know whether Grigoriy followed or not, her head spun with a chaotic mixture of defiance, rage, and a smidgeon of fear.
He spun on her, startling her back a step. She braced for the inevitable storm that came next. She didn’t fear he would actually hurt her. But she knew his words would wound.
For several seconds he merely stared, his angry eyes searching hers, seeking answers to questions he had yet to ask. She swallowed. Waiting. Anticipating.
Creating answers faster than she’d ever thought possible.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” He flung a thick arm sideways, indicating the wide window. “Kadir’s still out there. If I hadn’t seen you, hadn’t caught up to you, he could damn well have you stuffed in the back of some car, heading to God knows where! Dead maybe!”
She bit down on her tongue, biting back her own angry retort. Alexei took another step forward, forcing her backward in order to maintain eye contact. Quietly, logically, she answered, “Kadir doesn’t want to kill me.”
“No?” Alexei invaded her personal space again, standing so close his chest brushed against her breasts. “Just why has he been shooting at us then?”
Meeting his challenging stare, she gave into the defiance working through her bloodstream. “He’s been trying to buy me. If he wants me, he’ll take me, but he won’t kill me.”
Alexei’s eyes darkened with a deeper emotion, turning his light green gaze the color of rich jade. His jaw worked furiously, his temper barely restrained. At his thigh, one hand curled into a tight fist. “Is that what you want? To go back to silk sheets and the lustful desires of power? Did you like it there, Sasha, a slave to whatever Saeed wanted to do to you?”
She would have struck him if she’d had room to gain enough power to make an impact on his poisonous mouth. Instead, she flattened both hands against his chest and pushed. Hard. “Go to hell!”
Alexei threw off her hands by wedging his forearms between them. With lightning fast reflexes, he grabbed her wrists and thrust her backward, imprisoning her against the wall. The air sped from her lungs in a wild rush. His body pinned her in place from chest to toes. “You almost compromised my assignment, Sasha. I don’t take that fucking lightly.”
Writhing to escape his viselike hold, Sasha glared at him. “Is that what I am, Alexei? A mission? Is that what I was in Moscow? Something to be completed. Forgotten the minute you kicked me off that truck.”
The pain that flashed through his expression almost made her regret the accusation she knew was off the mark. But the need to unravel the layers he hid behind and expose the feeling he sought to keep disguised drove her onward. She held his stare, unwilling, unable to back down. “When you handed me to Amir, your job was done. Just one more girl in a chain of nameless, faceless others.”
He heaved in a deep breath and his lips pursed so tight they turned white. For a moment, she doubted her sanity in pushing him so far. He looked ready to kill.
Then, his fury cracked, giving her a full glimpse of the anguish she had suspected he suffered, but never truly witnessed. The same torment filled his hoarse whisper. “No.”
Before she could absorb his confession, his mouth crashed into hers. Nothing about his kiss was gentle. His teeth nipped hard, his tongue tangled desperately. Where his chest pressed into her breasts, she felt the shudder that rocked his body.
Alexei tore his mouth away, his lips moving toward the base of her ear as his hips sank into hers, his cock nestling in the tight space between her legs. A shock of pleasure hit her like a semi truck, and she speared her fingers into his long hair, holding on, grounding herself against the flick of his tongue, the scrape of his whiskers, the sharp edge of his teeth.
“I sent someone back.” His hand smoothed over the curve of her hip, down her thigh, drawing her leg up to his waist. He held it there as he ground his erection against her clit. “Back for Irina.” Another tremor rolled through his body and vibrated into her. “Because I fucking need this."
Mmmm. Gotta love a tormented soul.
But in any case, to celebrate all these book boyfriends, for the upcoming Valentine's holiday, I'm giving away a 15.00 Amazon Gift Certificate, which would cover your cost for the first Black Opal book, STRIPPED -- released January 3rd!
This prize will be awarded on Feb 5th!
All you have to do is:
1. Comment below. Either on the excerpt or share your favorite book boyfriend of all time. Or shoot, even your current book boyfriend!
2. Then check out these amazing men on the fantastic Book Boyfriend Blog hop, sponsored by AS THE PAGES TURN and READING BETWEEN THE WINES for more amazing prizes!
Enjoy, and happy early Valentines Day to all of you!
~Tori
www.toristclaire.com
In all of my time as a reader, writer, I fell in love with many, many heroes over the years. The one who stands out in my mind today is Ranulf from Johanna Lindsey's "Reina and Ranulf story" -- whose book title I ALWAYS mess up and think of the Georgina and James book. So I just stick with "Reina and Ranulf story". (As you can see the characters stuck in my head.)
I also have a soft spot in my heart for Grey from Maya Banks' Sweet series, and in a completely different vein, I'm still in love with Gandalf from LOTR.
But... I also happen to think Alexei Nikanova from LIE TO ME, my forthcoming Black Opal book is the man of my dreams.
Here's a little peek:
Fury radiated off Alexei’s body in hot waves as he forcibly ushered Sasha through a white painted door, into a spacious suite at the Palazzo Vecchietti. He kept going through the living area, past the rich plum-colored furniture, and into the bedroom. His heel connected with the door, sending it slamming shut so forcefully a painting on the wall rattled. Sasha didn’t know whether Grigoriy followed or not, her head spun with a chaotic mixture of defiance, rage, and a smidgeon of fear.
He spun on her, startling her back a step. She braced for the inevitable storm that came next. She didn’t fear he would actually hurt her. But she knew his words would wound.
For several seconds he merely stared, his angry eyes searching hers, seeking answers to questions he had yet to ask. She swallowed. Waiting. Anticipating.
Creating answers faster than she’d ever thought possible.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” He flung a thick arm sideways, indicating the wide window. “Kadir’s still out there. If I hadn’t seen you, hadn’t caught up to you, he could damn well have you stuffed in the back of some car, heading to God knows where! Dead maybe!”
She bit down on her tongue, biting back her own angry retort. Alexei took another step forward, forcing her backward in order to maintain eye contact. Quietly, logically, she answered, “Kadir doesn’t want to kill me.”
“No?” Alexei invaded her personal space again, standing so close his chest brushed against her breasts. “Just why has he been shooting at us then?”
Meeting his challenging stare, she gave into the defiance working through her bloodstream. “He’s been trying to buy me. If he wants me, he’ll take me, but he won’t kill me.”
Alexei’s eyes darkened with a deeper emotion, turning his light green gaze the color of rich jade. His jaw worked furiously, his temper barely restrained. At his thigh, one hand curled into a tight fist. “Is that what you want? To go back to silk sheets and the lustful desires of power? Did you like it there, Sasha, a slave to whatever Saeed wanted to do to you?”
She would have struck him if she’d had room to gain enough power to make an impact on his poisonous mouth. Instead, she flattened both hands against his chest and pushed. Hard. “Go to hell!”
Alexei threw off her hands by wedging his forearms between them. With lightning fast reflexes, he grabbed her wrists and thrust her backward, imprisoning her against the wall. The air sped from her lungs in a wild rush. His body pinned her in place from chest to toes. “You almost compromised my assignment, Sasha. I don’t take that fucking lightly.”
Writhing to escape his viselike hold, Sasha glared at him. “Is that what I am, Alexei? A mission? Is that what I was in Moscow? Something to be completed. Forgotten the minute you kicked me off that truck.”
The pain that flashed through his expression almost made her regret the accusation she knew was off the mark. But the need to unravel the layers he hid behind and expose the feeling he sought to keep disguised drove her onward. She held his stare, unwilling, unable to back down. “When you handed me to Amir, your job was done. Just one more girl in a chain of nameless, faceless others.”
He heaved in a deep breath and his lips pursed so tight they turned white. For a moment, she doubted her sanity in pushing him so far. He looked ready to kill.
Then, his fury cracked, giving her a full glimpse of the anguish she had suspected he suffered, but never truly witnessed. The same torment filled his hoarse whisper. “No.”
Before she could absorb his confession, his mouth crashed into hers. Nothing about his kiss was gentle. His teeth nipped hard, his tongue tangled desperately. Where his chest pressed into her breasts, she felt the shudder that rocked his body.
Alexei tore his mouth away, his lips moving toward the base of her ear as his hips sank into hers, his cock nestling in the tight space between her legs. A shock of pleasure hit her like a semi truck, and she speared her fingers into his long hair, holding on, grounding herself against the flick of his tongue, the scrape of his whiskers, the sharp edge of his teeth.
“I sent someone back.” His hand smoothed over the curve of her hip, down her thigh, drawing her leg up to his waist. He held it there as he ground his erection against her clit. “Back for Irina.” Another tremor rolled through his body and vibrated into her. “Because I fucking need this."
Mmmm. Gotta love a tormented soul.
But in any case, to celebrate all these book boyfriends, for the upcoming Valentine's holiday, I'm giving away a 15.00 Amazon Gift Certificate, which would cover your cost for the first Black Opal book, STRIPPED -- released January 3rd!
This prize will be awarded on Feb 5th!
All you have to do is:
1. Comment below. Either on the excerpt or share your favorite book boyfriend of all time. Or shoot, even your current book boyfriend!
2. Then check out these amazing men on the fantastic Book Boyfriend Blog hop, sponsored by AS THE PAGES TURN and READING BETWEEN THE WINES for more amazing prizes!
Enjoy, and happy early Valentines Day to all of you!
~Tori
www.toristclaire.com
Stripped Review
Sensual Reads reviewed Stripped, and brings another 4.5 Stars to the table! Yay -- I can't express how wonderful it is that folks are liking STRIPPED!
If you'd like to read the full review, it's posted here.
But here's a couple clips to entice, in the meantime:
"Tori St. Claire has skillfully interwoven suspenseful scenarios with passionate sexual interaction that will leave you breathless."
"STRIPPED is suspenseful plus often puzzling, and the frequent sex will heat up more than your thoughts."
If you'd like to read the full review, it's posted here.
But here's a couple clips to entice, in the meantime:
"Tori St. Claire has skillfully interwoven suspenseful scenarios with passionate sexual interaction that will leave you breathless."
"STRIPPED is suspenseful plus often puzzling, and the frequent sex will heat up more than your thoughts."
