Guest Post: Felicity Heaton Talks Angels & Devils!

Today, please join me in welcoming the dynamic Felicity Heaton to my blog!  Felicity has a wicked imagination to match her ambition and don't be fooled by all the talk about angels... there is plenty of the diabolic lurking in her writing as well... *wink*

It’s wonderful to be here at Will’s blog to talk about my latest release, Her Wicked Angel, which is the sixth in my Her Angel romance series.

I’m going to be sharing an excerpt from the book with you today, but I also wanted to let you know that I’m celebrating the release by holding a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at my website, offering Her Guardian Angel at an incredible discount, and I’m also giving away the first book in the series, Her Dark Angel, for FREE at selected Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books and Apple iBookstore sites.

Find out how to enter the Her Wicked Angel international giveaway (ends September 29th) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 6 chapter sample of the novel: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

SPECIAL OFFER: If you’re a Kindle, Kobo or Apple iBooks user, don’t forget to download your copy of Her Guardian Angel for only $0.99. That’s a $4 discount. Offer ends September 27th. Find all the links at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Guardian%20Angel

FREE EBOOK: You can find all the links for the Her Dark Angel free ebook offer (and two other free paranormal romance ebooks) at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-romance-ebook-offers.php

Here’s more about Her Wicked Angel, including an excerpt from this long angel romance novel.

Her Wicked Angel
Felicity Heaton
The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. When his master orders him to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for him, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned for her… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a female who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist.
He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him.
Liora is a witch with a bad reputation and an obsession with fighting demons. A mission gone wrong sees her sent to Paris to cool off, but when a dark and deadly warrior with a gaze of golden fire lands in her life, she ends up burning hotter than Hell for the wicked angel. Nothing will stand between her and the immense, forbidding male. Not her cousin. Not Asmodeus’s sworn enemy and twin, Apollyon. And certainly not the Devil.
Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Her Wicked Angel – Excerpt

“What business do you have with me?” Asmodeus casually preened his feathers, preparing them for the flight home, and ignored the Devil’s scowl.

The male hated it when he spoke to him without an ounce of respect. Everyone else under his command simpered and scraped at his feet. As far as Asmodeus was concerned, the Devil had enough pathetic creatures kissing his expensive Italian leather shoes. Asmodeus wasn’t about to join them. He was above them.

The Devil’s right hand man. 

A male created for destruction and bloodshed.

“You are to travel to the mortal realm and retrieve a female for me.”

Asmodeus’s black eyebrows pinched in a frown and it took him a moment to absorb exactly what the Devil had said and the connotations it contained. 

One, he was ordering him to lower himself to the role of minion, retrieving him another female for his harem. Treating him like a servant. That irked him. He was not just another of the Devil’s servants.

Two, he was offering him a taste of the mortal world, granting him leave to step outside the environs of Hell for the first time in his existence. That intrigued Asmodeus. He had always wanted to see the mortal realm with his own eyes and experience it.

Asmodeus stared at him, weighing his options. Swallow his pride and finally fly in the world above, seeing the buildings and the colours, and all the things he had only ever seen in the pool on the plateau, or tell the Devil to stick it and spend the next week in the cells, probably tortured, possibly maimed permanently for his disobedience.

Asmodeus swallowed his pride and it tasted bitter. “Fine.” 

The Devil grinned, revealing short fangs. “Good. You will find her in Paris, in the middle of the park near the base of the Eiffel Tower. She will be wearing crimson and black. Bring her to me.”

Asmodeus nodded, took a step backwards and then turned away from the Devil. 

He threw his hand out in front of him and a black vortex appeared, swirling like smoke. It had been many centuries since he had bothered practicing glamours and veils, having given up on ever leaving Hell and having no need for changing his appearance in this realm. He hoped he hadn’t forgotten how to cast them.

Asmodeus focused on himself, casting a veil so none would see him when he stepped through the portal into the mortal realm. 

“Bring her to me quickly, Asmodeus,” the Devil said behind him and Asmodeus nodded again.

Perhaps he would dally just a little. Who knew when the Devil would allow him to leave Hell again?

He stepped through the black portal and tensed as he appeared in the mortal realm. His eyes watered and he blinked against the assault of strong light, leaning back into the shade of the tower that speared the blue sky above him.

Blue. 

Asmodeus tipped his head back and stared up at it, and then looked at his surroundings. Green trees. Dark metal. Pale stone. Mortals dressed in a multitude of colours. The warm air carried strange scents. Dust. Something sweet. Smoke. Sounds came from every direction. Blasts of noise and distant rumbles of what he suspected were vehicles. Constant chatter. Laughter. Squeals of happiness. All alien to him.

All choking and closing in on him. 

He didn’t like it.

He took a step back towards the portal behind him and glared at everyone as they passed. Ants. Hundreds of them. Swarming. Shoving. Jostling each other. He wanted to kill them all. They were noisy. Brutal. Irritating.

Insignificant.

Powerless.

Asmodeus grinned, his golden eyes narrowing with it, and flexed his fingers. His fangs began to lengthen and his black claws followed them.

Prey for the hunter. 

He would drown out the disgusting scents with the smell of blood. He would replace joy with fear, with screams and sobs and pointless pleas for mercy. He would bathe this colourful world in crimson.

Crimson.

A flash of that colour caught his eye and his gaze zeroed in on it. It was gone, lost in the sea of other hues. It flickered again, further off to his right, and his eyes shot to it. Wavy chestnut hair bounced against crimson ruffled material with each light step. He caught a sliver of black jeans. Crimson and black. The female the Devil wanted.

She turned and he glimpsed her face, and his desire to bathe his hands in the blood of these puny creatures slipped away, calm suffusing him, making him forget his irritation and dark desires.

She blinked, black lashes shuttering luminous hazel eyes, and turned away, continuing onwards towards a strip of green land to his right beyond the shadow of the tower.

Asmodeus felt a tug behind his breastbone, pulling him in her direction, but something told him it wasn’t the Devil commanding him to follow her. It was something else that made him want to track her through the crowd.

He focused and altered his appearance as he walked, hiding his pieces of gold-edged black armour with a black dress shirt, black jeans and leather boots, and shielding his wings. He lifted the veil that concealed him from mortal eyes and stalked the female as she moved through the thinning crowd, keeping his distance but remaining close enough that he wouldn’t lose her.

She stepped out into the bright sunlight on the vivid green grass and it cast golden highlights in her hair. Asmodeus’s heart missed a beat and then thumped hard against his ribs. His palms sweated.

Why?

He had hunted thousands before for the Devil. This female was no different. He would capture her and take her to him.

He wouldn’t.

Asmodeus shook his head and paused at the edge of the crowd, staring after her.

He wouldn’t?

He had pushed the Devil to the limit of his patience a thousand times but he had never disobeyed an order. He would not begin now.

He would take the female to his master.

The female in question turned on the grass and peered up the height of the tower, using a slender hand to shield her eyes, and Asmodeus’s heart missed another beat.

He slammed his hand against his bare chest and coughed. What was wrong with him?

Was the mortal world making him sick? He had never been sick before, but he had heard that demons could become ill. He wasn’t a demon though. He had never heard of an angel growing sick. Was it possible?

All the more reason to grab the female and return to Hell.

He took a step towards her, and then another one. She turned her back on him and he closed in until he was only a few metres away.

He just needed to grab her and then deliver her to the Devil. It wasn’t difficult, so why was he hesitating? He had never hesitated before. He had carried out his master’s orders without pause or regret, spilling blood and carving flesh, destroying lives. This was easy. Grab. Deliver. End of mission.

The Devil would have a new female for his growing harem. Asmodeus would return to his castle.

His stomach turned at the thought of that male laying his filthy claws on this delicate, dainty female.

He stared at the back of her head, replaying how she had looked when she had paused to glance up the height of the Eiffel Tower.

Wide hazel eyes.

Soft rosy lips.

Delicate perfect features and porcelain skin.

Chestnut hair cascading over her shapely shoulders.

Beautiful.

Pure.

Asmodeus wanted to close the gap between them, gently lay his hands on her shoulders, and slowly turn her to face him so he could drink his fill of her beauty and purity all over again.

Instead, he took a step backwards, distancing himself from her. Foreign feelings and thoughts collided in his mind, filling it and sending him in circles, tearing him between completing his mission and doing something that astounded him.

He could leave her here, in peace, and come up with an excuse. He couldn’t let his despicable master ruin her. He wouldn’t.

He turned away and held his hand out before him, focusing on the air there to call a portal back to Hell.

“Where do you go, Asmodeus?” The soft female voice caught him off guard.

His shoulders tensed and his outstretched hand shook.

She knew his name. She recognised him. And she spoke in English, even though they were in France.

English was not the native language of this land.

He had never left Hell before.

How did she know him?

He looked over his right shoulder and found her standing where he had left her, but facing him, her hands clasped in front of her, over the point where her crimson short-sleeved gypsy-style top met her black jeans.

A serene smile curved her rosy lips and it was then that he felt the incredible power in her.

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback.

Find all the links, a fantastic 6 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter the Her Wicked Angel giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Books in the Her Angel romance series:

Her Dark Angel (Her Angel romance series book 1)

Her Fallen Angel (Her Angel romance series book 2)

Her Warrior Angel (Her Angel romance series book 3)

Her Guardian Angel (Her Angel romance series book 4)

Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel romance series book 5)

Her Wicked Angel (Her Angel romance series book 6)

Find out more about the Her Angel series at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/series/54822-her-angel

About Felicity Heaton:

Felicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons!

If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:

Website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk

Blog: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton

Victoria Blisse's 100th Sunday Snog

One of my oldest friends in the biz is Victoria Blisse, who was also one of the first writers I edited professionally.  With so much history between us, I was pleased to be asked to participate in her 100th anniversary Sunday Snog.


Vic asked if I could put up an excerpt and offer a prize, so here is an excerpt from my erotic short entitled En Garde, originally published by Phaze and now available from Purple Prosaic, either on its own or as part of my single author anthology, When There's A Will.

The theme for the 100th Sunday Snog is kissing, so here is the scene where Kelly corners John... and gets him to give her the kiss she's been offering. An offer he keeps talking himself out of acknowledging...

"John? You've got one chance to tell me what it is you see that you don't like."
Startled out of my thoughts, I glanced up hurriedly. Kelly stood in the entrance to the hallway. The pink of her nipples was brilliant against her pale skin. A tattoo of a thin vine sporting thorns and tiny purple flowers circled one breast and trailed down her side and across her mid-section. I tried not to stare at the trimmed patch of brunette hair where it ended and her legs began. I forced my gaze up her naked body to meet hers. 
Those intense hazel eyes held mine, burning with a mixture of anger, frustration, and seduction.
"Kelly, what? What the hell?"
"Oh, come on! I've been fucking throwing myself at you all night. Now you tell me, what is there about me that makes you so unwilling to take a hint? You don't like girls with small tits or
something? Or maybe you just don't like girls, period? Please, John, tell me you're gay. It'll make me feel much better."
She stomped across the living room in her naked glory and I felt the blood in my body rushing to both my face and my cock.
Throwing herself to the couch next to me, she put her hand in my lap with the same decisive, no-nonsense attitude she showed in her fighting.
"Okay, so you aren't gay. And you do like what you see. So tell me, why haven't you kissed me yet?"
A million possible replies crossed my mind in an instant. None of them were adequate, so I ignored them. I lifted my hands to the back of her head and pulled her lips to mine.
Her mouth opened with a moan and I thrust my tongue in to wrangle with hers. My hands twisted in her hair and I crushed her lips against mine, pouring all the longing energy I had spent
the evening conserving into the effort. I didn't stop to question the reality of the situation; I just kissed her as hard as I could.

For a prize, I am offering an e-book copy of the anthology containing En Garde.  I'll leave it to the lovely Ms. Blisse to determine how the winner is determined.

R.I.P. Frederik Pohl

Frederick Pohl died Monday at the age of ninety-three.  One of the last remaining links to the beginnings of science fiction, Pohl was not only a great author, but an agent and editor as well.  He was also a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army in Italy.

Pohl was one of the memorable writers who helped me come to love the idea that there was more to the world than what I could see in front of me.  Thank you for that, sir.  My thoughts and prayers to Elizabeth, your wife of twenty-nine years, and to the three daughters, son and grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will miss you so much more than I will.

Juggling Lives

It's not a new thing for me to feel as though I've too many masters.  Nor is it something I find dismaying.  But it can get a little confusing at times.

As an author of erotica, there are certain things you just have to keep separate.  I learned a hard lesson in this a few years ago, when I actually lost a job because of what I wrote.  Not that my writing was the only factor, but as the emotional distance from that time has increased I have been able to more clearly see that it was the deciding one.  It was a perfect storm of a situation, and there were other influences.  But the spool that the varied threads converged on was my writing, and without it I would not have lost that job.

That's hard.  Especially when you go to apply for other "real world" jobs and they want to know why you left your last one.

This summer has been one of transition for me.  I've had the same day job for about three and a half years and it was time to make a change.  I was in a bad financial place and the current job was only enough to keep my head from disappearing beneath the waves.  There was never going to be a swell I could ride to the beach.

So, I took steps.  I made the legal decision to liquidate my debt.  I found a new job in a completely divergent industry.  I had a plan.  Like any plan, it lasted about as long as it took to write it before circumstances forced it to change.  The job I was supposed to transition to got delayed by multiple factors.  Despite the forward movement on solvency, finances again reared their head in the form of an unanticipated large-scale vehicle repair. 

And, of course, while the new job is worthwhile, it has a public side that again forces my writing to be treated as, at the very least, a privacy issue.

The more things change....