Gideon's Angel - Coming Soon to Extasy Books!

A while ago, I posted a character interview with Gideon Molfetta and Tara Tarolf on this blog. 

Their story has been a long time in coming. I apologize to readers who have been patiently waiting for another installment in this series. Just remember, the best way to get what you want is to write, message me on Facebook or Twitter and ask. It's that simple. I promise! 

So, this short, unedited excerpt of Gideon's Angel is for those of you who have been waiting for it these past few years. Thank you for writing and asking me to finish it. 

Gideon's Angel:

Frumpy and forty-something, Tara Tarolf, is a vampire slayer. After losing her husband to cancer, she devotes her life to making the streets safe for humans by hunting down rogue Cartuotey and bringing the hammer of justice down upon them. In her opinion, men were too much work. She already had one husband, she wasn't looking to add another man to her life. 

On the verge of committing suicide, Gideon Molfetta is everything she had ever dreamed of in a man. It was too bad he was on the verge of committing suicide to avoid becoming the most dreaded of his kind and she wasn't a guide. His kind mated with guides and Tara had no idea what her kind even was. Could she convince Gideon that his mate was worth waiting for, and would he ever tell her what it was he knew about her kind?

Excerpt:

“So, as you can see,” I said, my hands still raised high above my head. “There’s really no reason to kill me.” Pausing, I peered through eerie silence at the man who still had the laser sight of his pistol trained on the base of my throat and sighed with relief. “It’s about damned time.” The words came out almost a snarl. Where did a common thug get such an expensive pistol?

Dropping my arms, I rolled my aching shoulders forward and back, trying to release the tension from holding my hands up over my head for so long. In the mood to be nasty, I had an incredible urge to kick the jerk in the crotch for preying on innocents the way he did. Instead, I stood glaring at him for a minute before I tossed the idea aside.

The guy stared off into space, his eyes unfocussed. Admittedly, it was the first time I had ever been proud of my dubious gift to talk someone into a mindless stupor. Still, it was better than killing the jerk.

The twenty-seven dollars in my wallet wasn’t worth dying—or killing—over. The man had no idea who he’d been dealing with. If the darkness was a thief’s best friend then it was my lover. I could hide from the world in the daytime. At night, I could practically disappear.

I scurried away from the idiot, grabbing his gun before I left. I didn’t need it but I didn’t want him descending on some unsuspecting mundane with it either. Since a mundane—also known as a person with no magical abilities—wouldn’t have any way to defend themselves like me, I figure it’s my duty to keep scum like that from preying on them if I can.  

It was a good thing a cold front came down from Canada earlier in the morning and I had been wearing gloves. Leaving my prints on the gun was out of the question, since it was about to make an unannounced appearance at the nearest police station.

I moved quickly out of my mugger’s line of sight, unsure of how long his stupor would last and whether or not he had another gun hidden on his filthy person. Buildings blurred by me as I ran through the dark streets looking for a cop.

Glancing back through the darkness I frowned. I had lulled him into that stupor, because I hadn’t wanted to hurt the jackass. I hadn’t accidentally killed anyone yet and I certainly didn’t want to start any time soon.

However, I wouldn’t go so far as saying I’ve never taken a life. In fact, I take lives on a fairly regular basis. But then, I’m a vampire hunter. Taking lives is kind of a prerequisite for the job. Not that I get a salary for it. Besides, killing a vampire wasn’t like killing a human was it? I mean…they’re dead already. Right?

For those of you who haven't already read books one through three, They're available at most retail e-book outlets. 

Look for: 

Book 1: Virgin's Blood My very first release. I hope to get a new cover soon.

Book2: Alicia: The Awakening

Book 3: Afraid to Dream

If I only had a nickel

Caution; This is a bit of a rant. Read at your own risk.

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me when's your new release or what are you working on now. I might be a rich woman. I love my readers and I'm glad they ask. It helps keep me motivated. 

If I had a nickel for every time I told myself that my books just aren't going to write themselves, I could pay my electric bill. If I don't make time to write, it's just not going to happen. So what if I don't vacuum the floor today or the others in the house have to fix their own dinner? I've been working. I've written five-thousand words today. That should count for something, right?

Balancing the day job, housework and the writing is not an easy thing. Yes, I have a day job. I'm not rich, and as long as internet trolls keep sharing my books on share sites, I'll never even be able to realize my dream of quitting the day job and writing full time. I don't need to be rich, but being able to pay all of my bills every month would be nice. I've yet to accomplish that--even with the day job.

Still, I digress. I meant to talk about finding time to write, not talk about how it's difficult to get motivated when you work your ass off every day and barely get paid for it because people share your work to countless others for free. Again, I digress...

Finding time... What if I give you an example of an average day around my house? I get up at 7:00 to get ready for work. I shower, wake up the guys and rush out to the kitchen to make something for breakfast. By the time breakfast is over, It's around 8:30 and time to take my meds. I take what pills I have to take, After that, I get my insulin out and psych myself up to stick myself three times with a needle. Some say it's easy. Not for me. Occasionally, it hurts like the dickens and that makes me hesitate every time.

After my injections and meds, it's time to make sure everyone else is ready to go. I make my coffee and gather my things together. Okay. Do I have my watch? Check. My glasses? Yep, wearing them. My phone? Check. My netbook for writing on the fly? Check. My notebook for writing on my breaks at work? Yes. Is everyone ready to go?

Finally, sometime between 8:45 and 9:00 we leave the house and get in our ten year-old van (I did mention I'm not rich, right?) and head to work. We carpool because our other car has been broken for over two years and after sinking over $2000 into it, we just couldn't afford to get it going again. The three of us head in to town and the guys drop me off at work at 10:00 am.

The guys go park and sleep or play on their phones in the van until it's time for them to start work, at 1:00. Three hours, they wait to start work and when I'm off at 7:00 I wait two and a half, to three hours for them to finish work. That's when I write.

In fact, it's 7:10 as I write this in the break room at the day job. Again, I do this because I'm not rich. Hell, I'm not even well off, though I'm sure someone out there believes I am. We'll leave work generally around 9:45 and get home about 10:45, we'll unwind for a few hours and usually hit the bed at about 1:00 am--sometimes a bit later.

Generally, I don't rant, I don't whine, and I don't like airing my problems in a public arena, but I'm a bit fed up with the way things keep going for us. Our roof needs replaced. It's only 13 years old. The electric has been out in about a quarter of my house for a few years now and the foundation is crumbling and falling in under the house.

Why don't you get it fixed, you might ask. Because I'm not rich. I'm not well off and I'm definitely not comfortable. I can tell you what I am, though. I'm tired. 

I'm tired of 12 hour days at the day job. I'm tired of my body aching because the docs say I shouldn't be working outside the home at all anymore and why don't I quit and write full time. Most of all, I'm tired of watching the love of my life age as he dreams of someday having a real retirement when it's beginning to appear as though we'll have to work for the rest of our lives. And I'm sick to death of getting Google alerts that tell me my newest releases are on a share site two days after they're released. I'm sick to death of not making enough money with my writing to even pay my medical bills, let alone have enough to live on after paying said bills.

Most of all,  I'm sick of going to share sites and seeing that my books have been downloaded 80,000 times EACH. I have over 100 e-books, Do the math.

Again, if I only had a nickel...

Blog Contest Winner

Hi!
As I promised, I have chosen a winner for my blog contest. The  Easter basket winner is JackieW who commented on the contest at my website blog. I'm also giving away another prize to one lucky person who commented at my Blogger blog and that is a free copy of the backlist book of their choice. That winner is, Amanda Ann. I have notified the winners by e-mail and I await their reply. If I do not get a reply in seven days, I will choose another winner for any unclaimed prize.
Thanks to all who participated.
Tianna

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

Sex Me Up has been reviewed!

Sex Me Up, one of my newest novellas written with my best friend and critique partner Bonnie Rose Leigh has been reviewed by Amanda H. at Romance Junkies!

Here's a portion of what she had to say:

SEX ME UP is hot, emotional, tense and erotic. I just flew through this story. I had to find out what was going to happen next. This is going to be a phenomenal series. Jaynee is sweet, innocent, and beautiful both inside and out. Luc is the more dominant male, at least in my opinion. He was sexy, gorgeous and determined to get his woman, even at the cost of possibly losing her. Dare was my favorite. He was just as sexy, though a little less dominant, but he had a little more compassion in him. All three of these characters were superb together. The plot line never dwindled at all through this story. The sex scenes will definitely get you hot and bothered. They were absolutely explosive. I liked how Tianna Xander and Bonnie Rose Leigh wrote the sex scenes; they weren't too hard core but had enough BDSM to make your mouth water at the thought. Romance Junkies and Amanda H. for such a wonderful review.

Click here to read the entire review.


Until next time.
Tianna ~ Join me Where Romance Meets the Paranormal