Out Today: Not the Leader of the Pack

I'm so excited to share my new paranormal erotic romance with you — Not the Leader of the Pack. I'm proud of this book — it's hot, it's set in a world that fascinates me, and writing it helped me get through a rough time. I'll be doing a blog tour at the end of June, so there will be plenty of chances for me to talk more about all the things that went into putting this book together. In the meantime, here's some information (be sure to scroll down to the end to see my buy one, get one free offer).

Blurb:

Rival alphas Juli Gunby and Neil Statham want to tear each other apart — but will they do it in battle or as mates?

When Juli Gunby left Missoula, Montana, she didn’t intend to come back. Not to her exacting alpha werewolf father, and certainly not to Neil Statham, the beta who rejected Juli’s girlish advances. Her father, as usual, has other ideas, using his dying breath to pass pack leadership to his daughter. Juli resolves to carry out her duty to her father and her pack, but the one man she wants on her side has made himself her enemy.

After years of loyal service to the pack, Neil expects to take over as alpha when his mentor dies. As good as it is to see Juli again, he knows he can’t trust her. After all, she abandoned both him and the pack years ago and never looked back. Neil determines to fight for his rightful position in the pack, even if that means going up against a woman who fills him with an overwhelming urge to mate every time she walks into the room.

Someone needs to lead, and the more Neil and Juli fight, the more they attract interference from those who would control the pack and destroy the ties between them.

Buy Links:

All Romance

Amazon

Amazon UK

Bookstrand

Breathless Press

Excerpt:

"Juli. We're the only pack members who saw your father pass that ring of leadership to you." He paused to allow the significance to sink in, the bar noise around them rising to fill his silence. "You have another life in Lewistown. You have a career. You've made it clear you're not interested in this pack. We can say whatever we want about what took place in that room. He could have passed the ring to me as far as anyone else knows. No one would question that."

He would have kept talking, except that Juli wrenched herself violently out of his grasp at that point. "Not interested in this pack? We can say whatever we want?" He heard her just fine over the music despite the new distance between them. In fact, he worried who else had heard her mention the pack. And who else had seen that furry paw she'd thrust into his face. 


They both froze for a second, staring at her latest lapse of control. 


"Damn it." Juli's curse came out more as a growl than as words. 


"We need to get out of here," Neil said. "You just focus on staying cool." She knew better than to argue with him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out, leaving their beers behind. They could finish this conversation in his truck. 


They ran for the truck like the rest of the world was on fire, and slammed the doors behind them once they got there. Juli writhed in her seat, gasping, her wolf form rippling just on the other side of her skin. Neil panted in response. He didn't normally have trouble controlling his shift, but with her beside him, so close, too much of him wanted to meet her in a place of complete abandon. He wanted to run with her under the moon, fight her for supremacy until neither cared who wound up on top or on the bottom. Then, with one last vicious pounce, he wanted to surrender to the merging of their bodies. He swallowed hard. 


Stats. He ran through the winning World Series teams for the last three decades. He tried to calculate his total career RBIs. The stream of data calmed Neil down. He started the car. "I'm going to drive us somewhere a little more private," he told Juli. "Just in case." 


"Back to the hospital." 


"You're in no shape—"


"Back to the hospital." She showed fangs. Neil didn't need that so soon after he'd regained his own control. He stopped arguing and pressed the gas. They'd go somewhere. He just needed to be driving so he had something to concentrate on besides the idea of Juli giving herself up to the beast. He needed a really good reason to remain in human form. 


The truck's cab filled with her labored breathing. Neil turned on the radio to distract himself from the sexual images the sound called up for him. He'd always avoided being alone with her, afraid to give even the appearance of impropriety. Right then, Neil wasn't sure if he was grateful for the trouble he'd saved himself or sorry as hell for what he'd missed. The instinctual attraction he felt for her was off the charts. 


He got so caught in his reverie that only Juli tugging at his sleeve alerted him that her struggles had become sobs. "Neil, can you pull over?" Her voice sounded deflated. "I'm sorry I insisted about the hospital. I'm not ready to go back there yet." 


Her obvious misery immediately pierced his sexual fog. Neil pulled the truck into a convenience store parking lot and looked at her. "Do you want a minute? I can go get some water." 


"No, it's okay." She hesitated, chewing on her top lip. "I'm obviously way out of control." 


He watched her face carefully. "About what I said in the bar... I didn't mean to offend you." 


"You just think I don't care about any of this." 


"Well, do you?" 


Her head snapped up and a bit of the wolf flickered behind her eyes again. "How can you ask me that?" 


Neil blew out a long breath. She wanted him to make his case? He could do that. "You know being pack alpha doesn't pay. What about your fancy job in Lewistown? The one that was so important you couldn't come back here to visit your dad?" 


She rubbed her eyes. "Can you try to keep the venom out of this, Neil? Jeez, you're so bitter, you'd think I failed to visit you." Bingo. But Juli continued speaking, oblivious. "Gabriel's not going to like it if I resign. He talked a lot about developing new talent when he hired me. But it's not like the Council can't run without me. This was my father's last request. Besides, the pack probably needs me more." 


He swallowed, unable to believe she had the nerve to say these things. "Maybe I'm underestimating how good you are at walking away from things. Foolish of me, since I have personal experience." Neil shook his head, uncertain if the anger surging through him was directed at himself or at Juli. "The pack needs someone really committed, Juli. Not someone who will leave again the next time it's convenient." 


She snapped her gaze to his, her eyes widening with understanding. A wave of fear rushed through him. He'd revealed too much of his personal feelings. They needed to decide about the pack first. "You were the one who rejected me, Neil," Juli said, her voice so soft he almost couldn't hear her. "All I did was move on."

Bio:

Annabeth Leong has written romance and erotica of many flavors -- dark, kinky, vanilla, straight, lesbian, bi, and menage. Her titles for Breathless Press include Not His Territory, Not the Leader of the Pack, and a contribution to the Ravaged anthology. She enjoys writing about the tension between passion and control that werewolves embody. Unfortunately, when Annabeth loses control of herself, she does not gain the power to change shape. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, blogs at annabethleong.blogspot.com, and tweets @AnnabethLeong. She loves talking books on Goodreads, too: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5295946.Annabeth_Leong

Buy One, Get One Free Offer:


Not the Leader of the Pack stands alone, but I've written in its world before. I’d love to share the previous title, Not His Territory, with current readers. If you’d like to participate, e-mail proof of purchase of Not the Leader of the Pack, such as an Amazon receipt, to annabeth dot leong at gmail dot com and let me know your e-book format of choice. I will buy a copy of Not His Territory for the first 25 people who respond.

Behold! Cover Art for Not the Leader of the Pack

Breathless Press has one of the best cover artists in the business — the talented Victoria Miller — and she's outdone herself for my forthcoming release, Not the Leader of the Pack. Slated for release on May 31, this tells the story of two werewolves battling over pack leadership — and fighting down a powerful urge to mate. I'll be posting a lot more information in the next month.

This book is set in the same world as my previous Breathless release, Not His Territory.



Keep an eye out for excerpts and more in the month to come! In the meantime, you can warm up with Not His Territory, here.

Louisa Bacio Interview!

Louisa Bacio is here with me today, answering questions about her new release, Mirabella's Mardi Gras Menage. Enjoy!

1. Mirabella's Mardi Gras Ménage takes place in a world you've written in before. What should new readers know about the setting? 

Within New Orleans, the world of the Others – paranormals – and humans – coexist. Yet, the humans don’t really know they are there. With the vampires, there are two primary factions – those that keep their soul and are more “humane,” and those who go rogue.

The “hero” of this story, Nick, is pretty complicated. His story began in Chains of Silver, and he’s gone through a lot of changes. I don’t want to give away a lot. People can definitely pick up this novella and appreciate it. However, they’ll get more out of it if they read the others first. Right now, Nick is probably my favourite character – next to Trevor from the original story – so I’m a bit prejudiced.



2. Mardi Gras is traditionally a last chance to let loose before a period of ritual fasting. Does that theme — or others related to the holiday — get picked up in your narrative? 

Most definitely! Mirabella’s tired of being under the watch of her aunt, and she decides to get out in the world and live. It just happens to take place during the Mardi Gras activities. Pretty perfect timing, I’d say. Some conflict comes up, though, because she doesn’t quite know how to handle it.



3. Mirabella is in some ways a very innocent character — for example, she's still a virgin at the start of the book, thanks to her overprotective aunt. It impressed me that she doesn't get overshadowed by her two much more experienced lovers — especially since they have a bit of an existing relationship. What do you think keeps the relationship between the three of them balanced? 



Oh, she’s a little bit frightened by them. I had to temper her down a bit. I think it’s more of the excitement and passion of being with them that helps counter the experience aspect. Plus, there’s a level of trust there. Nick’s saved Mirabella in the past, and she’s used to being around paranormals, so she knows he’s not going to harm her.



4. The gender mix in this book (two women and a man) is different than in some of your others. Do you find the emotional shape of a romance changes when you're writing a different combination of genders? 

When the idea for Mirabella’s story came to me, I thought it would be a more traditional M/F/M. To my surprise – nope! I’ve written some lesbian stories, so the same-sex comes naturally to me. What I didn’t want to happen, though, was for Nick to bring Marguerite into the relationship. That seemed too domineering, and self-serving. Instead, I like the way it happened — that Mirabella and Marguerite got together first, and then Nick came into play.

Let me say, as a novella (which was supposed to be 20,000 words, and came in at 25k), there were more scenes I wanted to do. So, I might release a F/F excerpt at some time in the future. 



5. You've written a lot of ménage, and I'd love to get any tips you can share on how to handle the dreaded pronoun problem — I always struggle to make it clear, say, which "she" I'm talking about. 

Good place for a plug. I’m teaching a “De-Mystifying Ménage” workshop for Savvy Authors that starts today, March 25 (http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/showevent.php?eventid=1745). The pronouns can be tricky and so can keeping the body parts in order. I’ve got some great tips from Stacey Espino – one of my fav. ménage authors – on the acrobatics. Part of it, for me is having more than pronouns or names. So nicknames or descriptions. In Mirabella’s story, Marguerite has red hair, so she became the redhead lover, etc.



6. Do you plan to continue writing in the world of The Vampire, the Witch, and the Werewolf? 

At this time, I have one more full-length title planned for the fall. The story features Jana, a non-shifting werewolf we meet in The Wolfe Pack. Tired of being an outcast, she takes off for the city and shakes up with the original Vampire, Witch & Werewolf. Let’s say she has plenty of enticing experiences in this new environment. 



7. Is there anything else you'd like to add, about Mirabella's Mardi Gras Ménage, or writing in general?
 
This story was extremely fun to write. On that note, follow your instincts with a story. Listen to your characters, and they will come alive!

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!

Thanks so much for having me here today.

****

Mirabella’s Mardi Gras Ménage
Constantly under the watchful eye of her Voodoo priestess aunt, Mirabella longs to break free during the events of Mardi Gras. Escapades draw her into the arms of Marguerite, a fiery redhead with a passion for life, and Nick, a familiar vampire who’s haunted by his transformation and past.

What starts as a new experience – a Mardi Gras Ménage – soon turns deadly, and none of their lives will ever be the same.


Available via Ravenous Romance, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other eRetailers.

Bio

Louisa Bacio is the author of six erotic novels, including the paranormal series The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf, and numerous steamy short stories.

Bacio enjoys soaking up the sun in Southern California, and spending time with her family. In addition to writing and editing, Bacio teaches college courses in English, journalism, film studies and popular culture.

Drop in for a visit at
http://www.louisabacio.com
http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio
http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

Giveaway:

A .pdf of a book from my backlist. Leave a comment with a valid email address, and you’ll be entered to win.

Tour-wide:

A $20 gift certificate to an online book retailer. Use the Rafflecopter to enter.
$20 Rafflecopter Gift Card

For other stops in the tour, visit the tour page here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OR:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTdlMmJlNmViZjIwNzJmZDk2N2M5ZWM0NTg4NWI4OjU=/

Not the Leader of the Pack

I'm thrilled to announce that my Breathless Press title, Not His Territory, is getting a sequel!

I love the world of that book, and am glad to revisit it. Not His Territory is a paranormal romance set in the Northwestern United States. There, the werewolves chafe under the strict control of the legalistic Werewolf Council. Though the Council claims to be protecting the interests and safety of werewolves, many feel it's trying to legislate the wolf right out of the members of the packs. Against this backdrop, primal urges boil over into romance, sex, and rebellion.

Not the Leader of the Pack, as it's currently titled, introduces a new pack and a new romance. If you read the original, which is set in Big Timber, Montana, you may recall that Raul at one point refers to "the situation in Missoula." Not the Leader of the Pack tells the story behind Raul's comment:

When Juli Gunby left Missoula, Montana, she didn't intend to come back. Not to her father, who became ill-tempered after being abandoned by his mate, and certainly not to Neil Statham, the pack beta who rejected Juli's girlish advances. But a trip to her father's deathbed threatens to become a permanent stay when the old man uses his dying breath to charge Juli with pack leadership. Juli wants to fulfill his last request but Neil, feeling betrayed that the responsibility isn't passed to him, threatens to lead the pack to revolt if Juli becomes alpha. Neil and Juli can't compromise, and the more they fight, the more their old feelings of attraction rise to the surface. It's clear they're going to tear each other apart eventually, but it remains to be seen whether they'll do it as rival alphas fighting for leadership or as lovers in the throes of passion.

For Not the Leader of the Pack, I sank into the world a lot more -- this book is about four times the length of Not His Territory. I can't wait to tell you more about it as release approaches (and I'm dying to see what delicious cover Breathless makes for this).

The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: Mirabella’s Mardi Gras Ménage

In case you didn't get a chance to celebrate Mardi Gras on Tuesday, this post from author Louisa Bacio might give you that much-needed taste of New Orleans. Enjoy!

****

Blurb:

Constantly under the watchful eye of her Voodoo priestess aunt, Mirabella longs to break free during the events of Mardi Gras. Escapades draw her into the arms of Marguerite, a fiery redhead with a passion for life, and Nick, a familiar vampire who’s haunted by his transformation and past.

What starts as a new experience – a Mardi Gras Ménage – soon turns deadly, and none of their lives will ever be the same.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60777-547-8

Available from:


Ravenous Romance

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Barnes and Noble

And all other good eBook retailers.

*****

Excerpt:

“What are you doing living here?” she asked.

He’d asked himself that question many times over in the past few months. Nick had been used to living with others for all of his life. Being alone was quite different.

“After Silver and I broke up, it didn’t feel right to keep living with Lawrence, Trevor, and Lily,” he explained.

She nodded, her eyes clearing as more time passed. “I can understand that, but I’m surprised Lawrence let you go.”

“As my sire, he can pretty much watch me wherever I’m living. I’m sure if I were to go off the deep end, he’d get some type of psychic notice,” Nick explained. “It’s strange. It feels like I don’t have privacy at times, and at others I’m totally alone.”

She cocked her head to the side, studying him. Over the past two years of knowing Mirabella, Nick didn’t quite know what to think of her. She’d always been in the presence of her aunt, who was quite overpowering. Mentally, it was hard to separate memories of the two of them. The one time he had rescued her with Trevor, Mirabella had been totally passed out—under the influence of some other type of drug, or spell, or supernatural creature. In other words, she’d definitely not been herself.

“So how come we keep meeting this way?” Nick teased. “You always seem to be running into trouble.”

“Let’s just say I’m not very street smart,” she said. “Tante Teresa has kept me isolated a bit too much. Don’t know how to make it on my own in such large crowds, but I’m starting to feel like I need to escape the prison of her watchful eye.”

“Well, you picked a hell of a way to experience it,” Nick said. “It’s not full Mardi Gras yet, but these crowds building up to those events are almost as bad. You have to be careful on the streets.”

“I’m learning that. It’s a much different world to be out there than in the store.”

“I can’t believe Teresa let you out either. She’s gotta know what it’s like out there.”

A flush brightened Mirabella’s cheeks, and Nick thought about how gorgeous she looked in his bed, the contrast of her darker skin tone to the pale blue sheets. With all the mixed-breed genetics in New Orleans, both of them looked to be of Creole heritage. True, his coloring was a bit more pale now that he was dead and all. Mirabella’s skin shimmered in the moonlight.

“I might have slipped out while she slept,” she admitted. “The lure of the music drew me out, and I wanted to see what it was like.”

Nick was experiencing a lure all of his own. Her luscious lips drew him in. She caught him watching her, and she licked a droplet of water off her bottom lip. He sat on the edge of the bed, and she leaned toward him, her eyes half-mast.

Her breath smelled sweet, like fresh almonds mixed with vanilla. He shouldn’t kiss her. She was too young and too naïve. But while his head told him to step away, his desire took over, craving the physical connection.

At this moment, though, with her ensconced within his bed, the physical possibilities loomed endless. No one knew she was here. They could do whatever they desired.

Softly, his lips brushed against hers. He slipped his hand around the back of her neck, drawing her in closer and holding her steady. He probed her mouth with his tongue, requesting entrance, and she more than willingly opened beneath him.

She sighed against his mouth. Warmth. Vitality. Life.

All the traits a beautiful young woman possessed and a vampire like him lacked.

“I’d better take you home,” he said, giving one last effort to be a gentleman.

“What if I don’t want to go?”

“I’m trying to do what’s best here,” he said. He made a move to get off the bed, and she followed him, her body curling into his. Her warmth enveloping him.

“Best for whom? Not you or me,” she said. “I want more of your kisses.”

*****


Bio:

Louisa Bacio is the author of six erotic novels, including the paranormal series The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf, the 1Night Stand A Date with Death and numerous steamy short stories.

Bacio enjoys soaking up the sun in Southern California, and spending time with her family. In addition to writing and editing, Bacio teaches college courses in English, journalism, film studies and popular culture.

Drop in for a visit:

http://louisabacio.blogspot.com
http://www.louisabacio.com
http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio
http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

*****



Mardi Gras Prize Package (ends 2/28/2013)

Mardi Gras package includes Kitchen Witch spices, beads, fleur di lis cookie cutter, mask, etouffee mix. Shipping to the U.S. Value is worth $20 + the cost of shipping. I reserve the right to substitute the prize in case product is not available. If the winner is international, they can choose a $15 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
a Rafflecopter giveaway