Author Spotlight: RONIN’S BONDMATE by Mardi Maxwell (M/F, steamy sci-fi romance)

Ronin's Bondmate

By 

Mardi Maxwell

Blurb:

Krystali enchantress Belle of the House of Arlyn stands accused of spying and has been banished from her community. The truth would exonerate her but she doesn’t dare tell it. As an enchantress she can provide for herself except when it comes to defense. For that she needs a worthy warrior.

Zarronian warrior Ronin Hughson recognized Belle as his mate the moment he saw her. Eager to bond, he approached her and was immediately put off by her spoiled behavior. After consulting with the starship’s doctor, he believes Krystali will produce a kinder mate for him. In the meantime, he feels drawn to protect the spoiled enchantress.

Belle makes sure he knows she doesn’t want him anywhere near her. Ronin makes sure she knows he’s the only warrior willing to protect her. Resigned to traveling together they try to ignore each other, but Ronin’s mating fever and Belle’s troubles set them up for a destiny they can’t avoid.

Excerpt:

Ronin Hughson shoved his way through the crowd of hostile Krystali warriors and their enchantresses. With his pack hooked over his shoulder, and freedom just a meter away, he hesitated then moved another step closer to the exit. The battle beginning behind him was one he had every intention of missing. A rarity for a Zarronian warrior who spent his life fighting and searching for his mate.

Behind him, Bellya of the House of Arlyn, stood alone in the center of the room. Angry Krystalis surrounded her, determined to deliver the punishment she’d worked so long and hard to earn.

He told himself to keep going. Don’t look back. Don’t look at her. Don’t—damn, too late. His head swiveled as if he had no control over it.

She stood alone, surrounded but in no way defenseless. Still Zarronian warriors were taught to protect females and she was quite a sight. Tall and curvaceous with long dark wavy hair and soft brown eyes. Plump lips made for kissing and hips a warrior could hold onto during the most intense moments of passion.

Her chin was up and the expression on her face dared the crowd to do their worst. Although he abhorred her arrogance he couldn’t help but admire her bravado. He took another step toward freedom then with a curse he turned back. Honor forced him to stay because whether he liked it or not the blasted female was his mate!

The moment he’d seen her he’d known she was the one female in the universe who could save him. The joy, relief and excitement he’d felt had been overwhelming until he’d actually met her. She’d been rude and obnoxious and had treated him like saber cat scat.

He’d made allowances for her. Telling himself she was young and inexperienced. That they’d just gotten off to a bad start, and he needed to go slowly with her. Now, after spending more time with her, he knew she was the last female he wanted as a mate

He had six moon phases before the Zarronian mating fever blazed out of control and killed him. Bonding with Bellya would save him but he’d rather choose a warriors’ death in battle. Ironically, either choice would have him fighting for his life.

Disappointed that he’d finally met his mate and she was so wrong for him, he’d spoken to one of the starship’s doctors.  Borg Veeson had advised him to wait a while in case another Krystali female drew him to her. He’d traveled from one encampment to another, meeting hundreds of Krystali females. None had caught his attention, or raised his fever a single degree. Discouraged, he’d returned to Bellya’s village.

Now, looking around he wondered if one of the other Zarronian warriors would step forward to protect her. Most of them weren’t even paying attention to the proceedings. The few who were appeared to do so only out of curiosity.

Cursing them, he watched as the crowd closed in around her. She, of course, appeared bored and put out with the entire proceedings. An attitude that increased the tension in the room. It also increased the rage of the people around her who were ready for a bit of well-earned revenge.

Sighing, he moved to within a few meters of her and prepared himself to save her.

His movement drew her attention and for a moment their eyes met. Her eyes hardened as she gave him a disdainful get lost look then turned her back on him. He growled with anger and clenched his hands to keep from reaching out and pulling her over his knee so he could swat her delectable bottom

About the Author:

I have four siblings but I've always been the odd ball of the family. My parents used to tell people they had two sons, two daughters, and Mardi. lol I love looking at life from many points of view so that must be why I love the quirky and unique. I believe in UFOs, ghosts and that we have a space station on the dark side of the moon. 

When I read I like romance with BDSM, suspense, and lots of tears and laughter, as well as a happy ending. That's also what I write.

People ask what I do when I'm not writing. I'm just running around, living my life. I'm a terrible gardener (everything dies) but I refuse to give it up. I like to cook but only when I'm in the mood so most of the time its microwavable veggies and cold fruit with cheese. And don't forget that glass of wine during my evening Wine and Reading Hour. I love to travel, but then who doesn't, and I love just hanging out with family and friends

Where to find Mardi on the Internet:

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon

Goodreads

Mardi's Blog

Book Bub

Writer’s Block and how I deal with it.

Years ago, I rarely got writer’s block. I always knew what I wanted to write and how to write it. Lately however, I’ve been plagued with stress from many directions. I’ve had health issues, and schedule changes and things just don’t seem to mesh together the way they used to.

So… what did I do? I sat down and wrote up a plan, a strategy, if you will. What I want to get accomplished in a day. I want to write at least 1000 words a day. That isn’t impossible for me. I know this because I used to write 10,000 words a day quite regularly. I want to do certain things around my home, whether it’s dishes, laundry or just emptying the trash can in the kitchen. I need to work at the day job.

Unfortunately, I work an hour from my home and I carpool to save gas money and the three of us rarely have the same schedule so doing things at home are difficult on days I work. Sometimes, I’m away from my house 14 hours a day, which makes writing that much more difficult. I have a pad of paper I use during my breaks to write down fleeting thoughts and ideas. I carry a netbook or mini laptop to record those ideas after work, while I’m waiting for the others to finish up so we can head home.

I digress...or did I? Can you see how these things can cause a block? If not, and you’re still writing loads every day. More power to you. If you can, welcome to the club.

I’ve begun to treat writing a bit like a workout—a workout for the brain. All day long, I think about what if scenarios for the situations my characters are in. What if they did this, what if they did that?

What if Carrie wasn’t really the birth mother of the baby in her nursery, what if her baby was with another family, what if he had been kidnapped at birth because Carrie is the direct descendant of the ruler of a country, or a world and someone has stolen her child to lay claim to the child’s rightful kingdom? What if Carrie is a vampire, and her child something special, because its father is an angel or a demon, or a superhero?

Exercises such as the what if and why questions some authors practice are essential to their writing, to their world building. I use as many of these as I can. What are your characters motivations? If you can’t think of something to write. Think of these things and eventually, you’ll think yourself right out of that block.

Some authors--and I include myself in this--switch manuscripts when they run into a block. Sometimes, just keeping the words flowing, even if it’s not in the same story, can help you work through the corner you’ve written your characters into.  This can be a good tactic if you don’t have deadlines.

If that doesn’t work, ask yourself what are your characters thinking? Once you figure out what they’re thinking or doing, you should be able to move on. If you still can’t move on, give yourself an exercise. Write about your day, or something that upset you. Sometimes, just the act of writing about anything can get you back on track.

What if you have a deadline? It’s Wednesday and you have until Monday to finish your project. What do you do? Try sitting down and writing something, anything, that takes your characters to another place. Then go back and read it. Sometimes, you’ll find that while it might not fit exactly where you’ve written it, it will fit somewhere else in the story. Reread the last few chapters and try to remember what you were thinking as you wrote them. At one time, you had an idea of where you wanted to go or you wouldn’t have written it in the first place.

With luck, one of these exercises will get you writing again. If it doesn’t, sit down with your favorite treat and indulge in something you love. You’ll deserve it after all of that hard work.

Good Luck!

Until the next time, 

Tianna

Or you could try these:

Ten Websites That Help Cure Writer's Block

Shades of Green

Shades of Green

Nymphs are tiny little creatures. How can one possibly be the mate of two huge polar bear shifters?

Thal had never realized how boring her life as a nymph was until a group of ogres kidnap her and her kin. When she manages to help her friends and family escape captivity, she never expected to run into two men and three leprechauns intending to save them, as well.

When Kiran and Gaige mount a rescue with three unlikely partners, they couldn’t be more surprised to realize that one of the tiny nymphs is their mate. Has Mother Nature played a nasty joke on them or is there more to the tiny lass than what they think?

Excerpt:

“What in bloody hell do ye think is going on here?” Gaige glanced at his cousin, noting that Kiran appeared as confounded as he felt, at the moment.

The ground, which should be covered in thick-green grass and dark, fertile loam as it was every spring appeared gray as the snow melted. There were no light-green blades of grass, no clover.  The soil wasn’t as it should be either. It was as though the very ground was ill.

Trees, usually sprouting leaves the size of squirrels ears by this time of year, still lay dormant. Nothing green peered through the bed of dead leaves and equally dead-looking trees. The forest appeared as lifeless and barren as it did in the middle of winter.

The scent of moist soil and rotting vegetation permeated everything as they walked through the woods hunting game for the day’s meals. There was nothing. The squirrels and rabbits stayed sheltered deep in their burrows. Some of them stared out at them as they passed, their little hearts pounding with fear at the sight and scent of the two predators striding through the quiet forest.

Shades of Green ~ Highland Bears #5 a polar bear shifter series

Thursday Thirteen

Hiya!

Here is another Thursday thirteen. I won't promise that I'll do this every Thursday, I usually have to work at the day job and I'll most likely forget. LOL

This time it's restaurants and pubs. These are the thirteen places where I love to hang out when I have the time.

1. Curragh's in Holland

2. McFadden's in Grand Rapids

3. Applebees in Kentwood or Greenville

4. Bennigan's in Big Rapids

5. Logan's in Walker

6. Perkin's in Kentwood

7. Smokey Bones in Kentwood

8. Red Robin in Kentwood

9. Bob Evan's in Kentwood

10. IHOP in Kentwood

11. Suki Hana in the Woodland Mall

12. McKenna's in Lakeview

13. Main Street Pizza in Lakeview

The Prophecy

The Prophecy

By Tianna Xander

Copyright 2009

Now available at http://tinyurl.com/8rps79

Niklas Voortag, High King of Terrna lives his life for his people. His own needs are unimportant. Driven by the words of an ancient prophecy, he searches far and wide for the woman who can save his world. Now that he's found her, can she also save his heart?

Kidnapped from her world and everything she knows, Brianna O'Neill finds that she is The One bound to save an entire world. A trip through space, an acquaintance with a faery and an ancient sorcerer was never at the top of her list. Now she must come to terms with the fact that she is the only one with the power to thwart an evil plan.

Excerpt:

A slight movement in the corner startled her and she shivered with fear. Swallowing thickly, she tried to talk around the giant lump in her throat. “Is someone there?” She sat up, pulled the sheet up to her chest and squinted into the darkness, trying to see around the shadowy shapes she knew was her furniture. The sound of breathing from the corner made her heart pound faster.

Brianna’s hands fisted in her sheets, she hadn’t been this frightened in her own bedroom for years. The old fears and insecurities rose up, bound her to the bed, making it nearly impossible to move. She was torn between running and pulling the covers up over her head like a frightened child.

She inhaled sharply when a person stepped from the shadows, even opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Reaching for her throat, she wanted to claw at the slim column and force it to comply. She tried again, still nothing.

Is this another dream? The intruder stepped fully into the moonlight and she could see him, or her, very clearly now. Whatever it was, it couldn’t possibly be human. It was tall and thin, with long silver hair and long pointy ears. Brianna resisted the urge to giggle. Hysterics were not an option. She needed to keep her wits about her.

“I would appreciate it if you did not think of me as an it or as a female.” The creature straightened. “I am Larin of the Fey. Messenger of Morgaine.”

“Huh?” Brianna sat up, holding the sheet to her chest. Now that she knew she wasn’t looking at a specter, whoever it was, had to be human. Fear came bounding back. She cast furtive glances around the room, hoping to find something she could use as a weapon. What the hell, if she was going to die anyway, she was going to go out with a bang. Maybe literally. “First of all, how did you know what I was thinking? Two, how did you get in here, and three, just who in the hell are you?” Brianna waggled three fingers, glaring at him. She didn’t give a crap if he was gay. She just wanted him out of her house.

He sighed. “I am most certainly not gay. Not in the manner you mean at any rate.” He hedged. “I am gay, meaning that I am happy.” He smiled and spread his arms wide, his hands palms up.
Like that was supposed to clear things up? Brianna slid backward across her bed to put more space between them. Turning her back, she dropped the sheet, grabbed her robe and put it on. Maybe he was a weirdo surgically altered to look strange. One who needed to make the acquaintance of the guys who wore the white coats?

She held trembling hands in front of her, in what she hoped resembled a placating manner. “I’m glad that you’re happy being gay,” she smiled. “Really I am. I just don’t know what it has to do with me or why you’re in my house.” She blinked and eyed the telephone, wondering if she would be able to dial nine-one-one before he could take it from her and make her eat it.

Larin closed his eyes, running a long slender finger up and down the most perfect nose Brianna had ever seen. He smiled and opened his eyes. They had the most devilish twinkle.

“I am pleased you like my nose, madam, but it is far from perfect.” He leaned back and sighed.

“Ah. Now, my Queen, she is another story. She is perfection.”

“Will you stop that?” Brianna shook a finger at him. “Just stay out of my head! You weren’t invited.” She glared at him, furious, her eyes becoming slits. “How do you do that anyway?”

“Do what?” Larin asked, feigning wide-eyed innocence. The glacial blue of his eyes was prismatic, reflecting what little light there was back at her.

“Ack!” Brianna threw her hands in the air. She was never going to get a straight answer from him. The creep was more slippery than a politician.

His silvery white brows drew down in a fierce scowl. “I beg your pardon!”

“If you don’t like my thoughts, stay out of my head.” She said with a smirk. There! That got him. What in the world did the guy want anyway? And why aren’t you scared out of your wits because he just popped into your house? The strange thing was that she really wasn’t scared of him. She felt more like sticking her tongue out at him than running for her life.

Biting her lip, she eyed the phone and frowned. Why should she care if he’s gay? That was his business, not hers.

“I am Larin of the Fey! F.E.Y. You know, the faeries.”

Now available at http://tinyurl.com/8rps79