Happy holidays from everyone here at Harlequin! While you’re getting ready to celebrate this weekend, we have a special treat up for grabs for one lucky winner: a Harlequin Teen Paranormal prize pack! Prize includes:

• An Intertwined T-shirt (size large)
• Spellbound by Cara Lynn Schulz
• Crave by Melissa Darnell
• Majix and The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees
• 3 Iron Queen buttons (1 for you, 2 to share )

If you’d like to win this awesome selection of goodies for yourself or a teen reader you know, just leave a comment telling us which paranormal book was your favorite read in 2011 (and it doesn’t have to be a Harlequin title ).

Giveaway Rules: Open to US and Canada only. Must be age of majority to win. Contest closes on Wednesday, December 28 at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be chosen by random number generation and announced on December 29. For full official rules, click here.

UPDATE: The contest is now closed. Please check the comments to see if you’ve won

I want to thank you all for taking the time to drop by today as I share the inspiration behind AMAZON AWAKENING, my new (and first ever) erotic paranormal romance for Nocturne Cravings.

You see I love to travel, although I hate to fly.  What a problem!  I also hate heights which makes for some interesting trips up to some very unique places (you can check out my climb up a Mexican pyramid by visiting here:  http://carinapress.com/blog/2011/01/temples-and-demons-and-heights-oh-my/).

I’m bound and determined to visit a lot of the world’s more fascinating places and to not let my fears get in the way.  I also want to be able to share those experiences with you by setting some of the books in those locations so that if you can’t get there, you can still enjoy them with me.

One place I’d love to go is the Amazon, but sadly I haven’t been there in person.  However, I decided to visit there vicariously by setting AMAZON AWAKENING in that locale.  I also gave the very unique and sometimes dangerous rainforest a twist by making it the home of a group of people known as the Guardians whose role it is to protect a sacred space located deep in the jungle.  This special place might even be the Garden of Eden and it’s up to the Guardians to make sure it isn’t harmed by the encroachment of man.

Rey Peralta, the sexy hero in the story, is sent to bring back the heir to the Guardian people, Paola Lopes.  Paola is a NYC attorney who has reached a fork in the road of life and Rey is just too sexy to refuse.  Plus, Paola wants to meet her grandmother for the first time before she passes.  What Paola doesn’t expect is that she will be pulled into the world of Guardians and into a very sensual and fulfilling affair with Rey. (Did I say VERY SENSUAL? It is an erotic romance after all!)

But back to the Amazon.  Did you know that the Amazon rainforest touches 9 countries in South America and is made up of almost 2.5 million square miles (1.2 billion acres) of land?

It’s also home to about one in five of all bird species and has over 50% of the world’s species of plants, animals and insects.  Insects.  Yack.  Big, ugly and dangerous insects!  Luckily the Sacred Space to which Rey and Paola journey is a kindler gentler rainforest.

If it seems far-fetched to you that a mysterious group of Guardians and a Sacred Space could exist without anyone knowing about them, consider this:  There are possibly dozens of tribes of natives in the Amazon that have never met anyone from the outside world.

Maybe one day when I get to visit, I will be able to see some of those people as well as all that amazing flora and fauna or go for a ride along the 4000 miles of the Amazon river from where it starts in the Peruvian Andes to where it empties into the Atlantic.

One day.  For now I hope you’ll enjoy taking that trip with me within the pages of AMAZON AWAKENING!

What place(s) is on your “bucket list”?  Leave a comment for a chance to win a LOST T-shirt and copy of AZTEC GOLD.

Later this month, the third and final novel in Harlequin Nocturne’s Royal House of Shadows quartet will be released. Lord of the Abyss by New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh hits shelves (and ebook stores) on November 22.

Miss the first 3 books in the series? You can still find them online in both print and ebook but here’s your chance to get them FREE — we’re giving away a set to a lucky commenter!

Prize includes 1 print copy each of:

Lord of the Vampires by Gena Showalter

Lord of Rage by Jill Monroe

Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Andersen

Each of the Royal House of Shadows books were inspired by a different fairy tale (click the links on the book titles above or visit our miniseries site to find out which story inspired each author). So to enter the giveaway, we’d like to know which story inspires you. Leave a comment answering this question: If you were to write a fifth Royal House of Shadows book, which fairy tale would you base it on?

Rules: The contest will close on Wednesday, November 16 at noon EST. Open to residents of the United States and Canada only. For full official rules, click here.

Good luck!

UDPATE: The giveaway is now closed, and the winner has been announced in the comments.

Woot! My debut novella, The Djinn’s Dilemma, came out about a week ago as part of Harlequin Nocturne’s new Cravings line. I’m still riding that high!

The story is about Rukh O’Shay, a half-djinn (same thing as a genie…yes, the wish-granting beings!) assassin, who is used to taking out the bad guys. But his latest assignment, Texas Journalist Sarah White, is nothing like he expected. A glimpse of her bright aura reveals her gentle spirit, while her beauty makes him long for only one thing—to taste her.

Sarah shares the raw desire to connect with Rukh. He can turn her on with a glance, and satisfies needs she didn’t even know she had.

But Rukh had been hired to kill her—and the only way to save her is to find out who wants her dead before someone else finishes the job….

So what inspired this djinn tale? I grew up on my grandmother’s spine-tingling stories of djinns and ghosts with their otherworldly powers, and these childhood myths are part of my storytelling psyche.

However, I also had a more human & physical inspiration…actor Antonio Banderas. Check out the cool tribute video I found on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean

I simply adore the man and I wanted to write a sexy djinn assassin with bedroom eyes and a HAWT accent.

Have any of you watched the recent movie Puss In Boots? Um, I closed my eyes and just listened to Antonio purr out the dialogue. Oh so delicious.  Okay, back to my point, I wrote Rukh O’Shay while imagining Antonio…and he turned out sexy, dangerous and irresistible. Just like dark chocolate.

I hope you enjoy The Djinn’s Dilemma and reading about Rukh! To win a copy of the book, leave a comment with your email (for contact) by Thursday, Nov. 10. Now, who would you cast as your personal djinn or genie?

Author Bio:

Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes for her local newspaper. Other than that, she’s raising a family of two children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.

She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction.

You can find her at :

• www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
• http://minakhan.blogspot.com
• http://twitter.com/SpiceBites

Thank you for having me here today to chat about my story in A Vampire for Christmas!  It was nice to revisit this theme since four years ago my editor approached me to write my first vampire Christmas novella.

Now Christmas is probably my most favorite holiday and when I think of the holiday, I think of love, life and light.  The total opposite of what I think about when I think about vampires, namely, being alone, dead and in the dark.

It took me quite a while to wrap my head around the differences between the two, but little by little, I realized that having a Merry Christmas for a vampire was all about helping them find their path back to a world of love, life and light.

In that first novella, “Fate Calls”, it was all about healing the heart of the vampire by showing him that the holiday was not about the pain and loss he had experienced in his long life.

But my story in A Vampire for Christmas was inspired by something totally different this time:  the Muppets Christmas Carol!  Yep, after searching for inspiration I decided that this novella, “When Herald Angels Sing”, had to be a story of redemption like Dickens’ tale of Scrooge.  In this story, however, the Christmas angel that comes to vampire Damien is not only determined to show Damien the error of his old ways, but has to learn some lessons of her own!

It was revealing to take Damien back to his past to show him the man he was and urge him to be a better man the next time his angel visits.  In the end, Damien will be forced to make a supreme sacrifice in order to save the life of the angel he has come to love.

I hope you will enjoy my take on the classic Dickens’ tale!  I’d love to hear from you what you think about mixing vampires and Christmas.  For a chance to win a t-shirt for THE LOST and an autographed copy of Holiday with a Vampire, just leave a comment on this blog by midnight PST on Wednesday, November 9.

UPDATE: The contest is now closed — winner has been posted in the comments.

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It’s not even Halloween and we’re chatting Christmas!  I feel like if I even  mention the snowy holiday that flakes will bombard me and it’ll be twenty degrees below zero before I know it.

How to stave off those chilly nights?  Why, snuggle up to a vampire.  The fanged ones don’t sound very snuggly, do they? I mean, they’re old and their skin is pasty and they have those sharp teeth.  But fear not, the vampires in my world are not cold-blooded.  In fact, they are very warm, and the perfect snuggle for a cold winter’s night, especially before a roaring fire with a little Michael Buble playing in the background.  But celebrate Christmas?  There are many arguments against a vampire even caring about Christmas (at least in my mind).  Most of my vampires are not overly religious, though some were born and raised in a specific religion.  Naturally born vampires are more spiritual.  But Daniel, the hero of MONSTERS DON’T DO CHRISTMAS is a Scrooge for a different reason.  He’s just recently become a vampire, and he thinks he’s a monster.  He doesn’t want to harm anyone, and is struggling to stay on the up and up.  And the last thing he wants to do is sing Christmas carols and pretend life is good.  Because it’s not.

Or is it?  Sometimes, we just need to view our lives from a different perspective to put it all in place and realize that we have a good life and that whatever the world gives to us, we can handle, one way or another.  And Daniel finds that mirror in the heroine.  Can she turn his thought process around and help him appreciate the goodness he has inside him?  I think so.  ;-)

Here’s to a very vampy Christmas!  I hope you all get what you want in your stockings.  (Heh.  You can take that one to read in any manner you wish.)

Michele

Giveaway: Michele has generously offered a copy of A Vampire for Christmas AND her Harlequin Nocturne novel Ashes of Angels to one lucky commenter. To enter, leave a comment sharing how YOU think a vampire should celebrate Christmas. The contest will close on Monday, October 31 at 4pm EST. Open to residents of the United States and Canada only. For full official rules, click here. Update: the giveaway is now closed. Please see the comments for the winner announcement

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Earlier this year, I was invited to contribute a novella to a Christmas anthology being published by HQN. What made this anthology different is that the story had to be about a vampire! Now, I love writing Christmas stories, and I love writing about vampires—I never thought I’d get a chance to combine the two.

When my agent called, I happened to be at a local restaurant with a writer friend. We’d met there to brainstorm some stories ideas for her over pizza and salad. As it turned out, we had to linger extra long over lunch in order to brainstorm an idea for my novella. We had a blast and “All I Want for Christmas” was born!

From the first moment, I knew my vampire hero worked in law enforcement—a man who has to protect both his secret nature as a vampire and his identity as an uncover cop.  I saw Eagan standing out on the cold streets, alone and on the outside looking in.  For him, all the glitz and glitter of the holidays was an irritation, something that got in the way of his investigation.

For the heroine, Della, Christmas represents love and friendship and reaching out to others.  When a handsome, but solitary, stranger walks into her diner, she wants to keep him there, enticing him to stay with hot chocolate and the warmth of her smile.  Who knows what kind of miracles the season will bring, especially after the two share a hot kiss under the mistletoe!

What made this anthology, A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS, extra special for me was the chance to work with three other amazing authors: Laurie London, Michele Hauf, and Caridad Piniero.  As a writer, I love the whole idea of giving four authors the same basic premise—vampires and Christmas—and seeing how different and how special the stories turn out to be.

I’ll be picking one lucky reader to receive an autographed copy of the anthology and a very cool surprise.  So tell me, would you want to find a hunky vampire in your Christmas stocking this year?

Contest Rules: Contest closes at 12pm (noon) on Monday, October 24. Open to residents of the USA and Canada only, sorry. For full official rules, click here.

Update: The contest is now closed. Please read the comments for the winner announcement

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If I Die, the fifth book is Rachel Vincent‘s Soul Screamers series from Harlequin Teen, is almost here! The book hits stores on September 27, but starting on Monday Rachel will doing a blog tour to celebrate it’s release.

The tour will features a grand prize of a Nook ereader preloaded with all the Soul Screamers books and an If I Die skin. Plus, there are daily prizes with each tour stop to win copies of If I Die.

So where will Rachel be visiting? Here’s the schedule:

Monday, September 19th – The Story Siren
Wednesday, September 21st – Chasing Words
Friday, September 23rd – The Page Turners

Monday, September 26th – The Elliot Review
Tuesday, September 27th Book Birthday - Mundie Mom’s
Wednesday, September 28th – Harlequin’s Paranormal Romance Blog (that’s us! )
Friday, September 30th – IB Book Blogging

Monday, October 3rd – Electrifying Reviews
Wednesday, October 5th – A Cupcake and A Latte (YA Reads, Reviews and more)
Friday, October 7th- Teens Read and Write

For more details on the blog tour, click here. And for a special sneak peek at the first chapter of If I Die, click “Browse” on the widget below!

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It’s (almost) the end of an era. Twilight Fulfilled, the final installment of Maggie Shayne‘s ground-breaking vampire romance series Wings in the Night will go on sale on October 1, 2011.

To celebrate the finale of the series — which has been in the works nearly 20 years — Maggie is hosting a Vampire Video Contest. Fans can make a video about why you love the Wings in the Night vampire series, which is your favorite book or character or anything else you want the world to know about Wings in the Night for a chance to win some amazing prices — including an ebook reader, the entire Wings in the Night collection, and autographed books. Fans can then watch the videos on Maggie’s YouTube channel and vote for their favorite by emailing MaggiesVampireContest @ authorslifesaver . com (take out the spaces) to help decide the winner. The deadline to enter is September 1, but voting via email continues until September 15, when the winners will be announced.

For details about how to enter, vote and contest rules, please visit Maggie’s contest page here.

Need a little inspiration? Take a look at one of the entries by cancer survivor Michelle Olson:

Good luck to all the entrants! And look for a guest-blog about Twilight Fulfilled by Maggie here on the blog next month…

Check out Harlequin paranormal romance and fantasy releases for August — plus, we’re giving away 3 of the books to someone who comments on this post! Read below to find out which 3 books (print) are up for grabs, the question to answer in the comments to enter, and contest rules.

Code of the Wolf by Susan Krinard (HQN Books)

Lust and revenge are best served after sundown…

Outlaw werewolves destroyed his home and killed his wife. But they made one mistake: they didn’t kill him, too. Now, after ten lonely years honing his skills with a gun, Jacob Constantine is back in New Mexico, hell-bent on justice—until he’s ambushed by bandits and saved by an angel on her own deadly crusade.

With a gun slung low across her seductive hips and vengeance in her eyes, Serenity Campbell isn’t who she seems to be. But neither is the mysterious bounty hunter who threatens to drive her desire into dangerous territory. Together they track their prey with the same intensity they circle one another. But will their growing passion be enough to right the wrongs of the past and bring two damaged hearts together?

Rush of Pleasure by Rhyannon Byrd (HQN Books, part of the Primal Instinct series)

With his sinister good looks, Noah Winston is the one man—a human with Casus ties—who Willow Broussard has never been able to resist. Once enemies, then lovers, Noah broke her heart. Yet the powerful witch and paranormal private investigator can’t turn him away when he needs her help in protecting his family, him—and the world—against their enemy…

As Noah and Willow work together, the secrets of their turbulent past are slowly exposed, each startling revelation drawing them closer. But when the enemy finally makes a move, Noah will need more than witchcraft and magic to survive. He’ll need his friends, one hell of a plan and the undying devotion of a tenacious witch whose love is eternal…

Part of our book giveaway!

Rebirth by Sophie Littlefield (Luna Books, part of the Aftertime series)

The end of the world was just the beginning

Civilization has fallen, leaving California an unforgiving, decimated place. But Cass Dollar beat terrible odds to get her missing daughter back—she and Ruthie will be happy.

Yet with the first winter, Cass is reminded that happiness is fleeting in Aftertime. Ruthie retreats into silence. Flesh-eating Beaters still dominate the landscape. And Smoke, Cass’s lover and strength, departs on a quest for vengeance, one that may end him even if he returns.

The survivalist community Cass has planted roots in is breaking apart, too. Its leader, Dor, implores Cass to help him recover his own lost daughter, taken by the totalitarian Rebuilders. And soon Cass finds herself thrust into the dark heart of an organization promising humanity’s rebirth—at all costs.

Bound to two men blazing divergent paths across a savage land, Cass must overcome the darkness in her wounded heart, or lose those she loves forever.

Ashes of Angels by Michele Hauf (Harlequin Nocturne, part of the Of Angels and Demons series)

As a muse, Cassandra Stevens had been warned of the Fallen angel who’d one day come to impregnate her with a nephilim, an evil offspring. But no one could have foreseen that Samandriel—the raven-haired, silver-winged Fallen one—would sweep her off her feet. Against all good sense, Sam stirred her suppressed desires, yet for her own sake she dared not arouse his carnal ones. For Sam had been summoned to earth by a dark vampire lord. And more Fallen were on their way. Despite the dangers, Cassandra needed Sam by her side, for only together could they prevent the apocalypse that had been unleashed…

Part of our book giveaway!

Guardian Wolf by Linda O. Johnston (Harlequin Nocturne, part of the Alpha Force series)

Spying his former lover shifting from wolf to woman provoked strong feelings in Simon Parran. And it seemed Dr. Grace Andreas had a few other secrets, including membership in the elite shape-shifting unit, Alpha Force.

Having hidden his true nature from Grace for so long, Simon is unprepared to finally work side by side with her. But with biological weapons going missing and a suspected terrorist plot in the works, Simon must turn to Grace for help. Even if being with her 24/7 would ignite all the passion he’d long repressed…

Part of our book giveaway!

The Braddock Boys: Travis by Kimberly Raye (Harlequin Nocturne, part of the Love at First Bite series)

He’s dying to taste her…

Lean, mean Travis Braddock is not your typical cowboy—he’s a brooding vampire searching for the killer who cost him his family, his future, his life. The last thing he needs is a woman he can’t resist. Then he met her…

Wedding planner Holly Simms is the perfect girl for a vampire on the move. Especially since she’s trying to ditch her “good-girl-lookin’-to-get-hitched” image. So Holly and Travis strike up a bargain—wickedly hot sex…with no strings attached! But nothing prepared Travis for the possibility that there’s room for a love life in the afterlife…

First Heat by Jenna Kernan (Harlequin Nocturne Bites)

Skinwalker Hunter Ortiz had been forced to leave Lena Coble, the only woman he’s ever wanted since his tumultuous teen years. Now he’s back in time for her first heat—and to claim her before other wolf shifters can take advantage of the unfamiliar desire taking hold of her. But once he saves her, will he be able to walk away from her again?

.

Heart of the Hunter by Vivi Anna (Harlequin Nocturne Bites)

For Jake Conroy and Gianna Morgan, killing demons came easier than making their relationship work. Even their incredible sex life hadn’t been enough to keep them together. But when they’re unexpectedly teamed up to hunt a demon, they discover their passion may not be gone after all….
.

.

Wanton by Crystal Jordan (Spice Briefs)

Two years after her lover died, Lynx Jenise finally feels ready to indulge the consuming urge to mate at the shifter gathering known as the Wild. Though her very human heart was broken, her animal instincts can no longer be suppressed.

But even as she finds the rough pleasure she craves with other Lynxes, another instinct haunts Jenise—the feeling that another mate is near….

Haunting the Night by Mara Purnhagen (Harlequin Teen, part of the Past Midnight series)

Charlotte Silver has been through hell.

Her mom’s in a coma. She may have caused the death of a young man. And now her friend Avery wants her to tackle going to Prom? Not going to happen, even if she is dying to spend some alone time with her boyfriend, Noah. Instead, Charlotte needs to find some answers to a few nagging questions—why was her family attacked? Will her mother survive? And is there a creature from the Other Side coming for her? Soon enough, Charlotte’s search for the truth becomes a race against time. But she may just find the sign she’s been looking for all along….

An ebook exclusive Past Midnight series novella.

Mayhem by Artist Arthur (Kimani TRU, part of the Mystyx series)

A lot can change in a few months. Jake Palmer is living proof of that. In a short time, the once-shy loner has discovered his incredible supernatural abilities and forged a tight bond with his fellow Mystyx. What’s more—he’s fallen for his best friend, Krystal. And fallen hard.

Still, some things remain the same—like the jocks who keep bullying him. Even though they have no idea how powerful Jake has become. And while he tries to follow Krystal’s advice, he may not be able to keep his cool much longer. But there are bigger problems ahead, because the darkness that’s been hovering nearby is about to descend on the town of Lincoln, Connecticut. And when it does, the Mystyx will learn who to trust, who to fear and just how much is at stake…

Which book are you looking forward to reading this August? Answer in the comments  (it does not have to be a Harlequin title ) to be entered in the draw to with Ashes of Angels, Guardian Wolf, and Rush of Pleasure! Contest closes 11:59pm EDT on Monday, August 8, 2011. Only U.S. and Canada residents can win, unfortunately. For full contest details, click here. Good luck everyone!

Update August 9: The contest is now closed, and the winner posted in the comments.  Thanks for all the comments & entries!