Guest Author on Borders True Romance

The 4th stop on my Blog Tour for Moon Craving is at the inestimable Sue Grimshaw's True Romance blog for Borders.com. You will love this blog!

I had to take a break between stops and did some shopping at Borders during my layover. Such a lovely bookstore and they are so romance friendly here in Beaverton, OR. Marcy Dodge makes authors and readers feel right at home. Won't tell you all the books I bought, but suffice to say my TBR stack has grown to towering proportions...

http://bordersblog.com/trueromance/

Brand New Excerpt for Moon Craving

Moon Craving

Feb 2010 - Berkley Sensation

ISBN-13: 978-0425233047

(c) 2009 Lucy Monroe

Book dedication: For all of the readers who asked and emailed about this book. Your enthusiasm for this world and desire to read the next story blessed me so much. Hearing from you helped me to keep working on it even when so many other things were vying for my attention. And I thank you! I sincerely hope Talorc and Abigail’s story is worth the wait. It was a very special story for me to write and one that I hope connects with all your hearts!~ Hugs and blessings, Lucy

CHAPTER ONE

“Is it war then?” The grizzled old Scott, Osgard, asked his laird.
Barr, second in command to their powerful leader, frowned. “On our own king?”
The temptation to say yes was great. Talorc, Laird of the Sinclair clan and alpha to his Chrechte pack, had to clamp his jaw tight to keep the word from coming out. It would serve David right. Talorc had no doubt that if he ordered them to, his clan would go to war against the king still disputed as ruler over all Scotland by many Highlanders.
In the Highlands, at least, first loyalty still went to clan leader, not the king. Where would that leave the “civilized” king then?
But the man raised by Normans in that hellhole to their south, was a friend. Despite the Sassenach influence, Talorc respected King David, when few men earned that honor.
“Was it not enough he sent you one English bride, that he now sends you another?” Osgard asked, his aged voice still strong enough to express his fury.
“He has no plans to send this one,” Barr said.
As if Talorc didn’t already know the details of the damn message. “No, he expects me to travel to England to wed this woman.”
“’Tis an outrage,” Osgard growled.
Barr nodded. “An offense you canna take lightly.”
“According to the messenger, ‘twas both King David and England’s king who took offense you did not marry the first Englishwoman,” Guaire, Talorc’s seneschal, quietly inserted, earning himself a sulfuric glare from Osgard.
The old man who had stood in Talorc’s father’s stead as advisor since his death, deliberately turned so Guaire was no longer in his line of sight. “Some might care about offense to the Sassenach king, but there are those of us that know better than to trust the English. Especially one who seeks to be wife to our laird.”
“I am concerned about neither king’s displeasure, but merely point out that they were offended first and that might explain our own king’s unpleasant request.” Guaire stood his ground, but it was clear the young soldier was bothered by Osgard’s comment.
Osgard harrumphed and Barr kept his own council, but Talorc nodded. “No doubt. I had no intention of marrying the Englishwoman Emily and ‘tis clear my overlord realized that after the fact.”
“You did not go to war when the Balmoral took and kept her,” Barr said.
“A Chrechte does not go to war over the loss of a Sassenach,” Osgard spit out, disgust lacing every word.
Guaire frowned. “The Balmoral would.”
Osgard spun to face the younger warrior and would have knocked him to the ground but another warrior’s hand stayed him. The big, battle scarred Chrechte stared impassively at the old man. As big as Talorc’s second in command, Barr’s twin, Niall, could intimidate without effort. His hard features were made more imposing by the scars that marred the left side of his face.
Killing a Chrechte was no easy task, but Niall had almost died in the same battle that had claimed his older brother Sean, Talorc’s former first in command and brother-in-law.
Osgard flinched, even though no threat had been spoken from the massive warrior.
Talorc had to bite back amusement. Little intimidated the old Scot, but Niall did it without effort. In fact, besides himself, the only other member of the Sinclair clan that did not tremble in Niall’s presence was his twin, Barr.
Opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Guaire stared with wide eyes at Niall and Osgard.
“I see you decided to join us,” Barr said to his twin.
“I heard a messenger from the king had arrived.”
“You heard correctly,” Talorc replied.
“What did he want this time?” Niall asked, as if demands from Scotland’s monarch came frequently.
“You can release my arm,” Osgard groused.
“You will not hit the boy.”
“He insulted our laird,” Osgard said.
“I am not a boy,” Guaire said at the same time and then when he realized what Osgard had said, he puffed up with offense. “I did no such thing.”
Niall released Osgard’s arm, but stepped between the old man and the young red-headed warrior. “Our Guaire would no more insult our laird than betray him.”
“He said our leader was not as strong as the Balmoral.”
“I didn’t!” Guaire’s face flushed with his own fury.
Niall looked inquiringly at Talorc. “Were you offended, laird?”
“Nay.”
“There. See?” Guaire crossed his arms, edging away from Niall toward Barr.
The lines around Niall’s mouth tightened, but he said nothing at the telling action.
Guaire said, “I merely referred to the fact that the Balmoral had found benefit in his English wife and our laird could as well. After all, she is Emily’s sister.”
Aye, the Balmoral had found a mate to his wolf in the English human. She had recently given birth to their first child. A daughter. Talorc actually felt pleasure for them, though he could not imagine why. The Balmoral was a pain in the ass. But a strong Chrechte warrior all the same.
“Our laird will not be stepping foot onto English soil to be wed,” Osgard said with pure conviction.
“Nay, I won’t.” Talorc turned to Guaire. “You will write a message to the king for me.”
“Yes, laird.”
“Tell him I will wed the Sassenach as requested, but will do so on the soil of our homeland. I will travel south through MacDonald land, they are our allies.”
“Yes, laird. Anything else?”
“I will accept the land bordering the Donegal clan that has been in dispute these years past and the other dowry items he offered to provide, but will require an additional twenty drums of mead and twenty shields, twenty helmets, ten swords and ten poleaxes in payment for taking the English bride.”
“What need have we of shields and helmets?” Osgard asked, though it was clear he approved Talorc requiring a bigger dowry of his king to marry the Sassenach.
“Not all our warriors are Chrechte,” Talorc reminded his aged advisor.
Some, indeed the majority of their clan, were human. They did not have the power of the wolf to protect them in battle, or the ability to change into the beast.
Only the Chrechte had those abilities and their dual nature was a closely guarded secret. Though they made no secret of the truth they saw themselves as superior warriors.
Human treachery could undermine Chrechte strength though. MacAlpin’s betrayal of the Chrechte people was still fresh in most of their minds, though it had taken place in the last century. Other wounds were more fresh, like the treachery of Talorc’s stepmother, the human Tamara. She had betrayed his father and the entire Sinclair clan. Her machinations had resulted in many deaths, both human and Chrechte alike, Talorc’s father and brother among them.
The fact that she had brought about her own death as well did not assuage Talorc’s fury or his grief.
‘Twas not a thing Talorc was likely to forget. Ever.
He could almost pity the human Englishwoman chosen as his bride because of it.

Blog Contest

So, the fabulously talented Kay Strum makes pendants from book covers and then turns them into necklaces. Thes are gorgeous one-of-a-kind type pretty-pretties and I couldn't resist having a few made for giveways to celebrate the upcoming release of MOON CRAVING. So, this week's blog winner will receive one of the necklases, a signed copy of Unleashed (which is out of print and hard, hard, HARD to get) and some sugar (I mean candy, not kisses LOL).

Remember to enter each week's contest all you need to do is comment on the blog posts for the week. Each comment is counted as an individual entry and if a friend stops by to visit and says you sent her, you get an extra 5 entries for the week. Pretty cool, huh?

New Interview at Seductive Musings

3rd stop on my Blog Tour for Moon Craving, and interview by the awesome Carrie Divine for Seductive Musings. Stop by...you might learn something new. :)

These interviews can be nerve wracking, but Carrie and met in the club car and I broke my no drinking rule for a White Russian with a dash of chocolate. That did the trick, you'll find my answers very forthcoming...

Seductive Musings - Lucy's Interview

Guest Blogging at Romance Junkies

The 2nd stop on my Blog Tour for MOON CRAVING is at Romance Junkies. See you there? :)

Saw a celeb that shall remain nameless as I was boarding the train for this stop, needless to say she was reading a romance novel...

Romance Junkies - Lucy's Blog Post

Awesome Reviews for Moon Craving

So far, advance reader response and reviews have been phenomenal!

An ancient race of werewolves trying to survive among humans holds Monroe's series together. The medieval Scots setting and her strong characters leave their mark on readers in this sexy, stay-up-all-night read. ~ 4 Stars, RT Book Reviews

Highly recommended! ~ Paranormal Romance Review

Moon Craving is a book that will grab you right from the beginning. ... Likeable characters and an engaging romance make Moon Craving a thoroughly captivating tale that I highly recommend. ~ Romance Reviews Today

If you know of other reader or professional reviews out there, please share the link in a comment. :)

Guest Blogging at RomCon

To kick off my blog tour for Moon Craving, I'm a guest over at the RomCon blog today and hopes you'll stop by to visit. :)

The first stop on my journey and I'm feeling energized and excited about all this cyber traveling...

RomCon - Lucy's Blog Post

Free Books from Harlequin

Just found out about this site on the I *Heart* Presents blog. There are a couple dozen Harlequin/Silhouette titles you can download for free. It's very cool! Me? I'm always keen to get a free book, especially by some of these top Harlequin authors. :)

http://www.tryharlequin.com/index.php

What Hubcap Watches in His Free Time

Okay...so, I'm busily trying to update my website, get some writing done and maybe squeeze in a visit to mom when my gorgeous hubcap brings me lunch. And tells me I've got to watch this video on YouTube. What video? You may well ask. A video that perfectly reflects the man's somewhat twisted humor!

What do you think? I had to watch it all the way to the end to really laugh, but he was laughing the whole way through. :)

Too Funny

This comic was sent to me by JudyF...and I thought it was too funny and too apropos. :)

As many of you know...it took me 9 years to sell my first manuscript. The Greek Tycoon's Ultimatum was published in September 2003 and I'll have my 5oth book released later this year (Close Quarters - September 2010), but the road here? Not so easy. I can so identify with this guy, as can many, many, many authors! :)

Read my first sale story on my website if you like...I can still remember the absolute overwhelming emotion of that day.

Close Quarters

The cover is finally here!

Isn't it gorgeous?

This is Roman Chernichenko's story. His family thinks he's a top Army scientist, but in reality he's a member of the Atrati and they call him Geronimo because he leads other warriors and he'd rather kill than count coup.

Guest Blogging at Running With Quills

The awesomely talented Susan Andersen has invited me to guest blog on Running With Quills, where she and my other dear friend Lori Foster hang out with a group of their pals. I hope you'll take time to drop by and visit. I'm feeling pretty lonely over there with only one comment so far on my post about...you guessed it...weddings!

http://www.runningwithquills.com/

A message from D.Q herself w/ pictures of the family!!!

Hey Y’all...D.Q. here, your number one stop for all the juiciest gossip on Lucy Monroe’s craaaazy family...Or, maybe I’ve been watching a few too many reality TV shows. But, seriously, our family would make the best reality show on the planet! I can just see it now...The ratings would be sky high, the viewers laughing...the cars...the fame! Oh...ah-hem. I seem to have gotten a little carried away. Moving on, here’s the latest scoop from behind the curtain, or computer as the case may be, on Lucy Monroe and her rockin’ family!

Many of you know my sister, Lucy’s oldest daughter, got married last March. And, let me tell you, it was the perfect dream come true for that Cinderella. She hitched the man of her dreams, we’ll call him Prince Charming, and they have a beautiful baby girl, Little Miss Sparkle Pants is our favorite nickname for that little one. The are the cutest little family. “Cinderella” is attending a beauty school, learning all about hair, aesthetics, and, all that other stuff that makes us girls feel like a Queen for a day. She is extremely talented at what she does! Then, her Prince Charming has just graduated from college, majoring in massage therapy.Congrats Prince Charming! Now I get free massages, YAY! Haha, just kidding. Meanwhile, Little Miss Sparkle Pants is busy doing her thing, You know, what all normal 1½ year olds do...rolling into the garbage can, doing back flips off the couch, seeing just how high she can climb on the entertainment center, and pretty much giving Mommy a mini heart attack every chance she gets. She’s so independent! But not to worry about her getting into too much trouble, because that little girl mastered the fluttery eyelashes and oh-so-adorable smile early on in the gameJ Mom (Lucy) is loving having this little grandchild around because it reminds her of when we were kids (and, oh boy, were we obnoxious!) but she’s realizing just how much being a grandparent takes out of you, mentally and physically.

Don’t worry Mom, I have another dose of stress for you. My wedding is in two weeks! That’s right, I’m getting married in exactly 13 days, just under the two week mark, and the house is hectic! But on the bright side, despite all the stress, her two daughters will now both be happily married and living their real life romance stories. How’s that for inspiration for your books, MomJ Even more exciting news, in September, I will be attending a fashion institute to major in Fashion Merchandising. I am so excited to start school and learn all about the topics that I love. Okay, I’m a nerd. I’ll admit it. And last, but certainly not least, my dear old brother is also starting school soon. He is going to college to study machining, taking after my wonderful Grandfather. They are both so talented in that field, but let me tell you, anytime they try to explain machining to me I kind of smile, say, “okay,” and then head out of the room to try and put the wires in my brain back together. LOL. Machining is some complicated stuff!

Well, that pretty much sums it up for the kids. As for Mom and Dad, they’re trying to keep everything together and somewhat organized. Mom has a book due in 1½ weeks (did I mention my wedding is in two weeks and the house is hectic?). And Dad is trying to save the planet one day at a time at his job. Can you say, “Stress much?” All,the while, the both of them are making sure theirkids (that’s us!) are still doing all right. Great job, SuperParents! You havegone where no other parents have gone before! Or some such cheesy line...

Well, this has been D.Q. and I’m out of here! I have to get back to the wedding plansJ

+++++++++++++++++++

Let's not make this a one way street, now Lucy wants to know about your family. Does your family have a website, do you personally? She'd love you to share the links so she can get to know you all a little better too. And share your own stories about family, be they born or made. :)

Pirates Make Me Go Aaarh!!!

And not in a good way. I was going to post about prologues, what they are, what they're supposed to be (according to Webster's) and what they've become, but I got sidetracked. (Next week, maybe? )

I got sidetracked by yet another reader letter helpfully informing me of book pirating going on for my books. Again. I appreciate the reader's help more than I can say, and I passed the info on to the legal departments at my various publishers, but I'm not sure I can convey just how disheartening I find this whole messed up practice.

I love pirates as much as the next romance author, just not when they're stealing my children's college tuition. How can anyone think it is okay to download an illegal copy of one of my books? Or anyone else's? I don't understand that mentality, anymore than I do shoplifters. Don't inventory control tags just drive you batty? Especially when you get home and one's been left on something you bought?

But I digress...what I mean, is they're only there because some peple think it's okay to steal and some people who don't still have to pay the price for that mentality. Like me. I think the price of some eBooks is outrageous for the length and yet, I understand that part of the reason the price is so high is because readers, yes people just like you and me who love to read romance, think it's okay to upload their eBooks to sites that provide free downloads.

These are not libraries, they are not legal and they make me so mad I could spit nails! Really, even if my mouth gets all metallic tasting.

Can I just say I am far more fond of Johnny Depp as a pirate than the nameless, faceless book pirates out there who betray the authors they like to read and the other readers who don't break the law to read their books?

So, to end this on a positive note...who is your favorite pirate hero? Mine is Maymon in Laura Baumbach's "Details of the Hunt" (which is incidentally available at Fictionwise.com - a reputable retailer of electronic books ::g::).

NEW VIDEO & Moon Craving Blog Prize Winner

Hey everyone,

It has been a while since the last post - That being said, it's somewhat of a huge relief here at the office that the holiday season is over but now it seems that Lucy's latest release "Moon Craving" is trying to keep me on my toes!

As for the release - we have a new teaser video out!!! Check out the video and let us know what you think.

Jane - you have won a copy of "Moon Awakening" and a copy of Lucy's books (your choice - if I have it in stock, I usually do!) This prize is from a couple weeks ago during Lucy's 12 Day's of Christmas! All you need to do is send me an email to lucymonroe.promo@gmail.com with your address and the subject line "MOON CRAVING BLOG WINNER!"

Enjoy the video...