A one-of-a-kind annotated copy? THAT’S RIGHT! I know how to party.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been two years since Caged in Winter was released into the wild. While I’d had work published prior, this was my print and full length novel debut. It was exhilarating and terrifying at once, and even though I’ve since published six books—three of which in the Reluctant Hearts series—I still get that same terrifying exhilaration every release day.

For quite some time, I’ve had this annotated copy of Caged in Winter just chillin’ on my bookshelf. I’ve been waiting for a great time to do a giveaway. I thought about doing it during the release of Our Love Unhinged as Cade and Winter completed their journey together, but release weeks are crazy, and yeah. That wasn’t happening. So here we are!

This paperback copy is filled with random notes and tidbits, details that pretty much only me and my Plot Whisperer know. Lots of goodies inside—and, okay, some completely useless information, too. Plus some random drawings my kid could’ve probably done a better job with, but what’re ya gonna do?

To enter to win this one-of-a-kind copy of Caged in Winter, mosey on down to the Rafflecopter and go to town on as many or as few options as you’d like. This contest is open for a week. Winner will be announced 11/12!

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When Jaime asked me if I’d be interested in participating in her and Swoony Boys Podcast’s 14 Days of Fictional Swoon, I said hell yes! Especially when I get to talk about book boyfriends I love. (For details on the blog hop and how to participate in the giveaway(s), check out the link above.)

I’ll admit I’m not a book boyfriend collector like some, but there are a few I’d fight my BFF for. And when I was thinking of who I’d write about in this post, I’ll admit it was hard to narrow it down to just one. There are so many great fictional boys out there. Some of my all time favorites are Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss, Brady from Animal Magnetism, Russell from Make Me, and newly added Jack from The Anatomical Shape of a Heart. But there is one guy who trumps allllll of these others. Strength, loyalty, and being a total sexy beast is what my favorite book boyfriends are made of, and Sean Reilly from Midnight Captive has it all. He is alpha to the core. But not one of those alphaholes I hate. Oh, no, Sean just knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go after it. And what he wants? Is Bailey Jones. He goes after her with a single minded determination that I found incredibly sexy. He’s not a creep or a stalker, but he makes his interest well known to Bailey. Another thing I loved? He wasn’t afraid to show her just how gone he was over her. An alpha not afraid to show weakness? THE HELL YOU SAY. But this man, you guys. THIS MAN.

The perfect one-liner…

“…I wanted you from the moment I saw you.”

And then we have this little beauty (possession and honesty and vulnerability are, apparently, my kryptonite):

“Mine,” he muttered. “You’re mine, Bailey.” 
She broke the kiss, anger blazing in her eyes. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
“You do tonight.” When she tried to back away from him, he touched her face, gently curling his hand under her chin. “It goes both ways, luv. Because tonight I belong to you.“
Surprise flitted through her expression, deepening when he took her hand and placed it directly over his heart so she could feel its irregular pounding. “Feel that, Bailey?”
She nodded wordlessly.
“That’s how badly I want you.” He swallowed, oddly nervous now. “That’s how terrified I am that you might change your mind and walk out the door.”

And then…

“You’re scared of me, Bailey.”
Her gaze flew to his. “I’m not scared of you.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You’re not scared—your bloody terrified. You’re terrified of how good I make you feel. You think it gives me power over you.”
She sucked in a shaky breath.
“But for a smart woman, you’re pretty fucking dense sometimes.” His hand dropped from her neck. “Don’t you know by now that you have just as much power over me?”

I mean. I can. Not.

So, yes, for Sean Reilly I would jump into a pool of Jell-O and wrestle my BFF just to claim him as my book boyfriend. And you can’t judge me for it.

Thanks for stopping by, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the blogs participating in the 14 Days of Fictional Swoon Blog Hop! But first, enter below to win a copy of newly released Paige in Progress! Jaime herself called Adam your next book boyfriend, and I don’t think she’d lie to you.

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14 Days of Fictional Swooning Schedule

February 1st– Fiction Fare

February 1st– Swoony Boys Podcast

February 2nd– WhoRU blog

February 3rd– Brighton Walsh

February 4th– Lost in Literature

February 5th– Gone with the Words

February 6th– Alexa Loves Books

February 7th– Andi’s ABCs

February 8th– Huntley Fitzpatrick (hosted on Fiction Fare and Swoony Boys Podcast)

February 9th– No BS Book Reviews

February 10th– Ashley Herring Blake

February 11th– We So Nerdy

February 12th- Roshani Chokshi

February 13th– The Irish Banana Review

February 14th– Kristen Simmons

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What a week, she says as she starfishes on the bed.

In case you missed the news, you know, since I didn’t post about it here, CAGED IN WINTER dropped out of the publishing skies and floated down to bookstores all over the land on Tuesday. I may or may not have visited three stores since then (*cough* the WI Barnes & Noble stores in Racine and Brookfield, as well as the Deerfield, IL store all have signed copies *cough*). I’ve had friends sending me pictures of them spotting it in the wild, and it hasn’t gotten old yet. So if you see it out, snap a pic and send it to me on Twitter/FB/Instagram!

With release week comes a whole mess of social media brouhaha. There’s a blog tour going on right now, and there are excerpts and original posts and character interviews and giveaways going on all over the place! As such, I wanted to list them all here so you don’t miss out on them. And, I’ll be honest, it’s handy for me to have them all in one place.

Guest post on Heroes & Heartbreakers about sexual euphemisms
Character interview with Winter, Tessa, Haley (and a surprise appearance from Cade) on The Book Hookup
Character interview with Cade on The Irish Banana Review
Cade’s OKCupid dating profile on Fic Fare
Cade & Winter’s top dream dates on Adventures of a Book Junkie
Interview on HEA USA Today
Interview on No BS Book Reviews
Exclusive excerpt on The Rock Stars of Romance
Web show with yours truly on  Whiskey, Wine & Writing
Q&A on Harlequin Junkie
Q&A on Books Over Boys
Q&A on BCS Reviews
Q&A on Viviana Enchantress of Books
Exclusive giveaway on Bad Girlz Write

I’m pretty sure every single one of those has a giveaway attached to it, so if you’re into free stuff, go take a peek!

Besides running around like a chicken with my head cut off over release week, I’ve also just finished first pass pages for CAPTIVE (due out March 2015), completed drafting EXPOSED (the follow-up to CAPTIVE, due out summer 2015), and am now working on content edits for TESSA EVER AFTER (due out March 2015), the follow-up to CAGED IN WINTER. To say it’s been a busy couple of weeks is like saying Niagara Falls is a trickle.

I am looking forward to taking a small break once these edits are done and doing the things I’ve been neglecting for the last five weeks. I never thought I’d be so excited to clean out my e-mail, but seeing those multiple pages in gmail has me all twitchy. I did take some time on Wednesday last week to go and get a tattoo to celebrate the release, and I’m in looooooove!

In between all the drafting/editing/release week craziness, I’ve also started up a reader group over on Facebook. So far, I’ve mostly just shared pictures of dudes who are the inspiration for upcoming heroes and posted excerpts. That’s where I will post all news first, so if you like to tease your friends that you know something before they do, well. This is the place for you.

I also sent out my first newsletter ever! (See, I told you I wouldn’t spam you.) One lucky reader won a signed copy of CAGED IN WINTER, so if you’re not signed up yet, I’ll just leave this right here.

Now I must dive back into TESSA EVER AFTER. Anyone waiting for that diddy? While I’m doing my read-through, I’ll be posting some snippets in my reader group. Js js js…

It’s hard to believe that CAGED IN WINTER will be released into the world a week from today. Much like with the birthdays of children, the release of this book both feels like it’s taken forever to get here, and also that it was just yesterday I’d gotten the offer from Berkley (it’s actually be a year, almost to the date!).

I’ve been in crazy-drafting mode, trying to finish up EXPOSED, the follow up to next year’s CAPTIVE, so I haven’t been consumed by all things pre-release. It’s both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I’m not getting so wrapped up in it, but a curse because ALL THE THINGS are happening at once!

A week is so close, but for those of you waiting patiently for the release, I know it feels like foreverrrrrrrrrrr. As such, how about a little excerpt to tide you over?

A slow smile spreads across his face, his eyes dancing. There’s nothing sweet about his expression. It’s the look of a predator capturing his prey. And as much as the idea rankles me, I can’t ignore the flare of excitement that grows low in my belly, the awareness he makes me feel in my body.

Everything about him is larger than life. His size, most notably, but there are other things I didn’t pick up on before when the only illumination we had was the moon and passing streetlamps. But here, under the harsh track lights of the bus, everything is accentuated. He’s imposing, even sitting there, his back curled as he leans toward me. His face looks like it was carved from stone, the angles of his jaw and cheekbones sharp and unforgiving. I feel like his shoulders are twice the width of mine, at least, though I know that’s not possible. Probably. His arms are massive, roped with muscle and completely covered in ink. I’d seen hints of tattoos before . . . pieces here and there, but this . . . This is more than I anticipated. Designs cover both forearms, disappearing into the short sleeves of the shirt wrapped tightly around the bulk of his biceps, tiny whispers peeking out of the neckline.

I wonder where they stop. If they stop.

“I guess it’s my lucky day then.”

And his voice . . . low and deep and rumbly and so perfectly matched to the rest of him. I glance down once again at the name he’s had permanently etched on him. The idea that someone—a girl—means enough to him to have her name forever branded into his skin is foreign to me. I can’t imagine that kind of love . . . that kind of commitment. Not after the examples I’ve had in my life. The low hum of disappointment in my stomach at him being taken is a completely unwelcome sensation.

Meeting his eyes, I recall what he said and ask, “Why’s that?”

He stares at me for a beat, his smile growing even more until his entire face lights up with it. “You just agreed to dinner.”

I sit back in my seat, brow furrowed. “Um, no I didn’t. What I said was I don’t do committed guys.”

“Right. And then you said, ‘Too bad, I was going to say yes.’ And you should know . . . this?” He runs a finger over the flowing letters that make up the girl’s name on his arm. “Is my niece, not my girlfriend. That?” He points to the date. “Her birthday, not an anniversary.”

I open my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. And then his hand is under my chin, coaxing my jaw up until my lips are no longer parted. With a single finger, he makes a path down the side of my neck, over my shoulder, down my arm to my wrist before he grabs my hand, and I swear to God, I’m on fire. Every nerve ending in my body is setting off a CODE-RED alarm, and I’m helpless to stop it. His thumb rubs back and forth on the inside of my wrist, his touch gentle and reverent, and I can’t remember the last time someone’s touched me so sweetly.

And I realize with clarity it’s because I’ve never been touched this way.

When I meet his eyes again, they are open and honest and beseeching.

“So. What time can I pick you up?”

To celebrate the release of CAGED IN WINTER, I’m doing a little giveaway! I’ve got a NOOK Simple Touch Reader and two paperback copies of my backlist titles, PLUS ONE and SEASON OF SECOND CHANCES. Both these titles are e-only, and won’t be available ever in paperback form. Fortunately, I have a few copies that I’d love to share with you!

The giveaway will go through release day (11/4), is for readers 18+ and is open to US only! There will be three winners in total, and I’ll announce them next week on the blog.
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