Tuesday, April 10, 2012

{Preview and Prize Event} West of Want by Laura Kaye

The month of April is filled with tons of giveaways and today, I'm adding one more. Laura Kaye, author of West of Want, has been kind enough to provide Better Read Than Dead with a preview and  You a chance to win big! 

Happy WEST OF WANT Preview & Prizes Event, everyone! Today, April 10, was the original release date for Book 2 in my Hearts of the Anemoi series, West of Want. And then some really cool things happened: my publisher, Entangled Publishing, signed a huge deal with the nation’s biggest book distributor, which means for the first time ever, my books will be shelved in brick-and-mortar bookstores. And then, West of Want received a very nice pre-sales estimate by the booksellers and Barnes and Nobles bought it for all their stores nationwide (and it got bought for airports, too—squee!). The only bad news in this whole scenario was this: the release date got pushed back, by three LONG months! LOL So, I thought I’d celebrate the original release date with a preview of the book and a big contest, and give you a small taste to whet your appetite until the actual release date arrives.

"Laura Kaye’s captivating writing and vibrant world-building will have readers hooked on the gods of the Anemoi. WEST OF WANT is steamy, spellbinding, and a must-read for all romance fantasy fans."
~Elisabeth Naughton, author of the Eternal Guardians series
Forty sites are celebrating with me today, and there are different posts at those different sites. To see the whole list of participants, click here. Now, without further ado, here’s the book blurb and one of four different never-before-seen excerpts from the book available for you to enjoy: 

WEST OF WANT BLURB:

Betrayal is all he's ever known, but in her, he'll find a love strong enough to be trusted...

When Marcella Raines' twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Though she's gravely injured--and still emotionally damaged from her recent divorce--Ella fights to survive.

Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn't protected him from betrayal and loss. Worse, he's sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph's heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt forces him to save her.

Ella is drawn to the vulnerability Zeph hides beneath his otherworldly masculinity and ancient blue eyes. And her honesty, empathy, and unique, calming influence leave Zeph wanting...everything. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want--a love that can be trusted.

***WEST OF WANT EXCERPT***

Restrained power made Zephyros’s hands tremble. At first, he’d wanted to help Ella because he owed it to her. Now, want bloomed into need. When he’d held her soft curves, the strength of her life force soaked into him. Seldom did he have any cause to interact with humans, let alone touch them, but the soft yellow aura that surrounded her body told him this woman was good, pure, true. A rare character, in his experience.

And then she’d said his name. Whispered it, really, but that didn’t keep him from fully enjoying the way her lips wrapped around the sound.

Silently, he summoned the ancient, elemental power, the one that flowed through him, that made him what he was. His palms warmed. Soft white light spilled from between his clasped hands.

Ella’s eyes cut to his glowing hands, went wide. “What? Don’t hurt…” She swallowed thickly. A tear leaked down her temple into her hair.

He met Ella’s barely focused gaze. “Fear not, I promise to hurt you no more.”

Her only answer was a shiver that racked her whole body.

Normally, a healing of this magnitude required sacrifice. It was how the gods worked. Quid pro quo, and all that. But, in this case, Ella’s case, that was hardly appropriate. After all, she wouldn’t need to be healed if he’d kept better control of himself.

Words in his native tongue spilled into the quiet of the room. He parted his hands, held them over her prone form, and let the healing energy cover her. The pale, white glow infused her aura, which absorbed the curative force, distributed small doses of it throughout her body.

Ella sucked in a breath.

“Be well, now,” Zeph whispered.

*****************************************************

Pre-order West of Want on Amazon | B&N

So, what d’ya think? Want more Zephyros and Ella? Visit more participating sites to read all the excerpts, meet the characters, see the the West of Want romance trading cards, and enter to win! Thanks for reading! July 10 can’t get here soon enough for me! *grins*

~Laura Kaye

“Using ancient winter mythology as an allegory for grief, Kaye has written a sexy story that packs a powerful emotional punch. NORTH OF NEED is pure winter magic and Kaye’s sparkling talent warms the heart.”
~Stephanie Draven, author of the Mythica series about multi-award-winning Book 1 in the Anemoi series, North of Need

WEST OF WANT PREVIEW CONTEST!

Event-Wide:

Seven participants who enter through the Rafflecopter form will win gift cards from winners’ choice of Amazon or B&N valued between $15 and $100! Those prize winners will be announced on West of Want’s release day, July 10, 2012. As a special thank you to those who have pre-ordered the print West of Want through Amazon or B&N, you'll receive extra entries - just enter your order confirmation number on the appropriate Rafflecopter line. Pre-orders are hugely important for an author because they determine how many books bookstores will actually stock and they count toward an author’s first-week sales which is when most authors have their best chance to hit the big bestseller lists. However, pre-orders/purchases are not required to enter. Commenting is the only required entry. Open to international.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Site-Specific Contest:

One commenter from each participating blog site will win a West of Want bookmark and the romance trading cards for North of Need and West of Want. Simply comment to enter to win and be sure to leave your email address. These prizes will be announced soon after May 10. Open to international.



About Laura Kaye:

Voted Breakout Author of the Year in the 2011 GraveTells Readers’ Choice Awards, Laura is a bestselling and award-winning author paranormal and contemporary romance. Hearts in Darkness is the EPIC eBook Award Winner for Best Novella, Forever Freed won the NJRW Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal of 2011, and North of Need, the first book in the Hearts of the Anemoi series, was named GraveTells’ Best Book of 2011 and won their 5-STAR Gold Heart Award, and won Sizzling Hot Read of the Year at Sizzling Hot Books. Laura lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.



36 comments:

  1. I love Spring! I love the smells, the beautiful flowers, the feel of the dirt, the sunshine, the longer days, I love everything about spring!!

    Mel
    bournmelissa at hotmail dot com

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  2. I love the weather and the flowers!
    Thanks a lot for the giveaway.

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  3. Oh I love spring! I love how everything is green and all the beautiful flowers and the trees. I love the smell when I go out of town. The weather... I just feel better when spring comes! Thanks for the great giveaway and for making it international!

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  4. I love that life just appears; the trees become green with blossoms. ladybugs are everywhere,Flowers are blooming and the birds are singing and it's warmer and the smell is wonderful!

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  5. I love the warming weather and the freshness in the air. I open my windows as soon as I can to freshen up the house.

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  6. Love the warmer weather, the fresh air, & the smell of a spring rain... Longer days are always a plus too.

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  7. Really enjoying all the things you enjoy about spring! Thanks for all the comments already! Good luck everyone! And thanks for hosting me here! :)

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  8. I love spring because of the smell of rain, grass, and flowers.

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  9. Congrats on your book and thank you for the awesome giveaways! You book sounds great!! Wishing you all the best!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

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  10. I really like the weather in Spring. Warm and wet and smelling of growing things.

    DawnM

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  11. My favorite thing about spring (once I get my allergies under control) is the mild weather! It's nice to be able to go play outside with the kids without eight layers of clothing :P

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  12. Congrats and Thanks!!
    kit0127(at)msn(dot)com

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  13. Spring I always say is the time where everything is reborn again. I love it. butterfli262002@yahoo.com

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  14. What I like most about spring is all the flowers starting to bloom. They are just beautiful. The weather is also real nice to go outside and read a good book. :)

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  15. Really enjoying reading all your comments everyone! Keep 'em coming and good luck! :)

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  16. I love the flowers blooming and I love the cleansing showers.

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  17. I love the flowers blooming and I love the cleansing showers.

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  18. I love leaving the windows and doors open!

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  19. the flowers! and the cool breeze you feel on your face!

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  20. Thanks for taking the time to comment everyone! Good luck!

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  21. flowers blooming = best thing in spring :D

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  22. I love the flowers of spring and the budding trees. Great job on the excerpts you picked to post, they give such a good teaser.
    Z
    Seawitch Reviews @ yahoo.com

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  23. One of my favorite things about spring is when the weather starts getting warm but it isn't hot. All the flowers start blooming and different trees bud and branch out creating tons of color where it had gotten pretty much brown and kinda bare. Spring just means everything comes alive and it's just beautiful you can't help but love it.

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  24. Another thing I love about spring is all the great shows that come back on TV!

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  25. I love the sunshine, the flowers and the warm air :)

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  26. warm weather and rainy mornings like today:)

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  27. Spring brings flowers and the great joy of gardening

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  28. sun, spring rain, flowers, longer evenings & earlier mornings :)

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  29. My favorite thing is the warm weather, the blooming flowers, the bright sky, i just love it all!

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  30. Thanks for all the comments everyone! You rock!

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  31. I adore spring. The temperature is perfect and the flowers are blooming. Around here, the Texas Panhandle, the grass is green because it hasn't died of heat and lack of water. But my favorite thing...the seldom thunderstorms. Oh, how I love the sound of the thunder echoing around me.

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