Scorching the Pages with Cathleen Ross

I’m not big on ordering books in advance, but the moment I saw the cover for Snatched, by my fellow Aussie author Cathleen Ross, I knew I didn’t want to wait one second longer than I had to – so the moment it was available for pre-order, I was there with my one-clicking finger! You’ll understand, then, why I’m thrilled Cathleen is joining us on Get Lost in a Story today to talk a little more about Snatched, an Entangled Scorched novel, which is now on my e-reader!

About Cathleen...

Cathleen Ross likes to write about the quirky side of life. She thought she was a "sweet" writer until she was asked to write her first erotic story, sold it immediately and she never looked back. She's a multi-award winning author who keeps coming up with sexy, steamy romances.

Connect with Cathleen via her website or Facebook.

Club Enforcer Troy DeLance is hellbent on revenge—eye-for-an-eye and all that—so he kidnaps his prospect's sister as payback for a betrayal. If he has to tie Stacey Martin to his bed to make sure she stays, so be it. All the better if she likes it. 

Stacey will do anything to save her brother. Even if it means surrendering in ways she never imagined to her beastly kidnapper. But as their relationship heats up, neither realizes that someone else is plotting a far more deadly payback...

Read a little...

Chapter One

Payback should be a bitch. But spying on Stacey Martin through her bedroom window in the darkness was giving Troy DeLance a hard-on. And Troy wasn’t happy about it.

Troy groaned out loud as Stacey unbuttoned her silky dress and it slipped to the ground, leaving her wearing virgin-white bra and panties. She had a body that was more siren than virgin. When she pulled her long, sun-blond hair from its ponytail, it draped over her slim shoulders down to her cute little rounded ass. She pursed her lips as she glanced out the window.

What he wouldn’t give to have her doing things to him with that sweet, pouting mouth.

Dirty things.

But that wasn’t going to happen. This was official business for the Slayers MC—the motorcycle club both he and his prospect, Animal, belonged to.

It didn’t matter that Troy’s attraction for Animal’s half-sister Stacey jolted into him like a slug from a gun. He’d met her for the first time two weeks ago…but she’d been dressed then. Semi-naked? Oh man. He didn’t want or need this untimely attraction. She was so not his type. Far from it. His club nickname was Beast, and that fit him to a T. She was definitely a beauty, but unlike the fairy tale, this little scenario was not going to end happily.

Not for her, anyway.

His gaze still riveted on her, he pulled at his tightening jeans and shifted on his Harley so he was more comfortable. He wasn’t such a creep that he’d jerk off while he spied on the girl. Instead, he fingered the roll of duct tape, planning his revenge on her brother.

A year ago, Animal had gone out of his way to join the Slayers as Troy’s prospect. Back then, Troy had seen schoolgirl pictures of Stacey in the auto parts shop Animal recently inherited from his dad. Who knew the guy’s sweet-looking kid sister would grow up to be such a striking young woman, pretty enough to model on a catwalk? No wonder Animal had never brought her to the club parties when she was in town. There wouldn’t have been a man there who wouldn’t have wanted to bang her.

Troy tried to remember how old his prospect had said she was. Twenty? No. Twenty-one? Anyway, it didn’t make any difference. He wasn’t going to date the girl, he was going to grab her and trade her.

Buy the book HERE.

Quick Chat...

Avril: Tell us a little more about the relationship between Troy and Stacey.

Cathleen: They come in to the book as enemies. Troy has kidnapped her and she's making his life hell so their relationship is fiery from the get go.

Avril: This is the first book in your Outlaw Warriors series – what can we expect from the future books in the series?

Cathleen: The second book also has a military hero but he has a duty of honor to settle for the hero, Troy in book one, which means spying on a rival biker club. He's given a job of guarding the President's daughter. She's serious and vulnerable, hateful of her role as a biker's daughter. She also adores him.

Avril: Alpha or beta hero?

Cathleen: Alpha. I still tend to over alpha them but that's the kind of hero I like to read. My heroes are dangerous and not your Mr Nice Guy, and they're all oversexed.

Avril: I’m crazy-keen to now a little bit more about your historical stories…?

Cathleen: I wrote a historical series set in Scotland in the Robert the Bruce period. It came to me in a dream but the voice was still talking to me while I was awake. I self-published it and it sold well for me. I've traced my ancestry back to the fierce Ross clan who were the Lairds of Balnagowan. I'm certain my reading up on this wild clan will provide for lots of background information for the next series I'm planning to write, which will be set in the Regency period. The Ross family had witches, fearsome lairds who were hard to tame and that's going to be fun to write in a more modern context.

Sweet or sexy reads? Contemporary or historical? 

What's your preference? Tell us in the comments to go into the draw for an e-copy of Snatched! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sweet and Wild - Dare You to Play with Nicola Marsh

I’m pleased and proud to say that Harlequin’s new DARE series is making a big splash in the heated pool of romance and ecstatic to have as my guest today the completely brilliant USA Today bestselling, multi-award-winning DARE author Nicola Marsh! Prepare to be wowed…

 

About Nicola...

USA TODAY bestselling author and multi-award winner Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair for adults and riveting, spooky stories for teens.
 

She has published 65 contemporary romances with Harlequin, Amazon and indie, and sold over 7 million copies worldwide. She currently writes women’s fiction for Amazon’s Lake Union imprint and contemporary romance for Harlequin’s new Dare series.

She’s also an Amazon, Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a 2013 RBY (Romantic Book of the Year) and National Readers’ Choice Award winner, and a multi-finalist for a number of awards including the RBY, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, and More than Magic. 

A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two little heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, and her favourite, curling up with a good book! 

Connect with Nicola via her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest

One night was supposed to ease her craving…

But after one taste, she's hooked!

Abby loves her new life working at Sydney's finest patisserie. Working alongside brooding new man–in–charge Tanner is an unexpected but delicious challenge, especially as each night their attraction only grows hotter!

But Tanner's past is as dark as the ink on his skin…he'll let her get closer than close in the bedroom, but dare Abby go deeper?

 

 

Read a little...

‘We should head back to the patisserie,’ Abby said, as we exited the hospital. ‘Makayla, one of the staff, will be run off her feet.’

‘Not so fast, Sweet Thing.’ My hand shot out, touching the small of her back, and a shock akin to electricity sizzled up my arm. ‘We need to get acquainted first.’

She stared at me like I’d suggested we get naked to do it and I grinned. The thought wasn’t totally unpalatable, considering how much fun it would be to rattle that impenetrable façade.

‘I meant let’s grab a coffee at that café down by the water, but if you had something else in mind I’m up for it.’ I threw in a wink, knowing it would rile her more than anything else I could say.

Predictably, she drew herself up to an impressive five-ten. Tall for a woman. I preferred them petite and pliable, not big and bristly.

‘Sweet thing isn’t my name,’ she said, chin tilted, haughty as hell. 

‘Would you like it to be?’ I leaned in, expecting her to jump back like a startled cat.

When she held her ground and glared at me with those big blue eyes, an unusual azure similar to a glacier I’d seen in New Zealand once, I had to admire her a little.

‘Here’s the deal. I love my job and I respect your brother. He gave me a chance when no else would and I’m not going to screw this up over some big-mouthed Romeo who can’t keep it in his pants. Got it?’

She jabbed me in the chest with a finger. She actually jabbed me. And I admired her all the more for having the balls to stand up to my in-your-face innuendos to get a rise out of her.

‘So quit the bullshit flirting and let’s talk business.’

I couldn’t resist one more. ‘Dirty business?’

‘Jeez, you’re annoying,’ she muttered under her breath as she stomped away.

Okay, so maybe I’d pushed too far but getting her so wound up had its advantages. Namely giving me an unimpeded view of her ass.

My earlier assessment had been correct. It was sweet. Taut and rounded, highlighted to perfection in the tight black pants worn by staff at the patisserie.

The patisserie…

I’d promised Remy to ensure it ran smoothly in his absence and I always kept my promises. I might be a prick who didn’t let anyone get too close but Remy was different.He was my blood.

And I owed him.

Which meant I needed to play nice with little miss sweet cheeks.

Buy the book at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and iBooks

Let's Talk...

Avril: I love the title Sweet Thing – how well does it encapsulate the story?

Nicola: Considering the bulk of the story takes place in a patisserie in Sydney, I think it’s perfect. Throw in the fact that Tanner calls Abby ‘Sweet Thing’ to rile her and I knew it had to stick. I came up with all the titles before I’d written the stories and each one—Sweet Thing, Wild Thing, Play Thing—suit the stories perfectly.

Avril: I know this is book one in a series – how do the novels connect?

Nicola: In Sweet Thing, Abby’s best friend is Makayla. Mak is a dancer trying to catch a break on stage and supplementing her income by working part-time at the patisserie. Hudson is Tanner’s best friend and works as a manager of Tanner’s nightclub. Mak and Hudson were once best friends but haven’t spoken for years after a major falling out. In Wild Thing, they reconnect…and how!

Charlotte is Mak’s flat-mate and the shy accountant meets her match in her sexy boss Alex in Play Thing. So characters from Sweet Thing are interwoven in all three books.

Avril: Category – mainstream – indie – young adult. How do you juggle all the balls?

Nicola: My juggling skills aren’t what they once were. As my kids grow older, the demands on my time are greater so a few of those balls have been dropped. While I love writing YA, I’m not doing that anymore. Similarly with indie. So these days I’m writing category romance and mainstream, mostly women’s fiction.

Avril: Do you have a ‘trademark’ – something people will recognize from one Nicola Marsh book to the next?

Nicola: Snappy dialogue. As a writer and a reader, I’m a sucker for quick-wit and flirty chatter, and readers have identified that repeatedly in my books, which I love.

Avril: Do you have a favorite trope?

Nicola: Opposites attract. I love pitting characters against each other who seemingly have nothing in common but end up discovering they mesh regardless.

Avril: What’s your pet hate as a romance reader?

Nicola: When there’s no real conflict keeping a couple apart and their disagreement can be solved with a simple conversation. 

Like to win an e-book of Nicola Marsh's Sweet Thing? Tell us in the comments what type of book you prefer -  sweet, wild or playful - and enter the Rafflecopter draw! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway