Wow how time zips by. Shadow Magic is here!

 For fun, here’s an excerpt.

Excerpt from SHADOW MAGIC by Cheyenne McCray
© Copyright Cheyenne McCray, 2008.
All Rights Reserved, St. Martin’s Press

Paybacks are a bitch.

And Hannah Wentworth would see to it that Ceithlenn, a dark goddess from Underworld, paid. Big time.

Banshee, Hannah’s falcon familiar, made a soft cry and gripped her shirt tighter in his talons, reminding her of where she was and why she had come to this secluded pond deep in the forest.

Those . . . feelings she’d been having.

Ever since she’d been forced to leave San Francisco, Hannah’s instincts had told her things were about to get worse. Impossibly more dangerous.

Whatever was coming, Hannah wasn’t about to face it blind or unaware. She would find out what she could, or die trying.

Hannah knelt on the damp grass beside the pond and dropped the pack she held. She dug through the leather bag until she found her scrying mirror then drew it out and settled it on the grass in front of her.

Smells of moss and rich wet earth mingled with the scents of evergreens and wildflowers as she focused on the mirror. A breeze ruffled Banshee’s feathers, and stirred her dark hair and the shock of blond that swept down one side of her face. A night bird began its evening song, and Hannah thought she heard Fae voices joining in.

Her grandmother had given her the scrying instrument after Hannah left her socialite mother to live with her father. The strength of Hannah’s innate talent for alomancy, using the mirror and sea salt crystals to scry, had astonished the high priestess of her D’Anu Coven, and Hannah’s power over this form of divination as well as her connection to the Dragon Elementals grew greater as time passed.

The ornate ebony wood frame was a fashioned of two Dragons, each biting the tail of the other so that it was a never ending circle. Hannah rubbed her thumb over one of the intricate carvings. Ebony was the most powerful magical wood and was associated with all of the Elements—Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, and aided her in her communication with the Dragons.

They were her totem and always had been. Even her falcon familiar was the living embodiment of Dragons in her world.

Hannah tried not to grind her teeth at the thought that she and her Coven sisters had been forced to flee their homes in San Francisco for Otherworld, just days ago.

No time for that now. Deep breath. We are going to figure out how to toast that goddess-bitch.

She gripped the soft grass in her fingers as she looked over the mirror. Only Hannah could “see” in the black glass within the ebony frame when she scried.

Hannah pulled a vial of salt crystals from her pack and tugged out the cork before setting the cork aside. She leaned forward so that she looked directly over the mirror, her hair swinging forward at the sides of her face. The mirror didn’t show hers or Banshee’s reflections.

She concentrated with everything she had, pushing out all other thoughts to still her mind and prepare herself for the vision to come. Silently, she asked for the aid of the Dragon Elementals and the great Druid Ancestors, and she called on Banshee’s powers to strengthen her own.

The falcon’s magic joined hers as it flowed through her body.

Come on . . .

Her heart rate picked up as it always did before she scried something monumental. The world closed in on her until all that remained was her, Banshee and the mirror. The forest’s sounds and smells vanished and it was as if she floated outside her body.

Time slowed. She tilted the vial and studied the patterns of the salt crystals in the air as they spilled out of the vial and onto the mirror. The vial slipped from her fingers, dropped onto the grass, and rolled away as she braced her hands to either side of the mirror and analyzed those patterns, too.

The pounding of her heart grew even more rapid until it felt as if her entire body throbbed.

Images appeared in the mirror and she tumbled, tumbled into the vision, all five senses, body and mind and soul, as if the events she visioned were truly happening. As if she were truly there.

Her heart nearly stopped beating.

Rain pounded down so hard it soaked her to her skin, chilling her, and she had difficulty seeing. But through the downpour she made out humans fleeing from a San Francisco tourist pier. Their terror flooded Hannah so deeply she felt it in her bones. Blood and death and the acrid odor of fear mixed with the rotten fish stench.

Fomorii demons.

Magic sparked at her fingertips as she caught sight of malformed shapes attacking humans. A scream rose in her throat.

You can check out another excerpt at CheyenneMcCray.com and you can find Shadow Magic in all stores and also on Amazon.com. 

Hope you enjoyed the excerpt!

Chey

Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I keep a spiral notebook at my desk where I keep track of release dates for books by favorite authors. I’m pretty compulsive about hitting the bookstore on the Tuesday if a book is supposed to be on the shelf. I’ve been known to ask the clerks to go root through the new deliveries to find a copy for me. >:-D

One I had been waiting for came out recently and I immediately rushed out to scoop it up. The title is MAGIC BURNS, it’s the sequel to MAGIC BITES, by Ilona Andrews. If you love urban fantasies as much as I do, you might want to give this series a try. I love the heroine—Kate Daniels is strong and doesn’t take anything off anybody. Not even the leader of the shapeshifters, Curran can intimate her and he’s pretty darn intimidating! I love the energy between them. The world Ilona has created is very different—Atlanta where technology only works between waves of paranormal energy.

My other bit of news is that my Paladin D.J. Clayborne will be guest blogging at http://simplyromancereviews.blogspot.com this Friday. D.J. has his own blog on my website, and he’s been invited to take his show on the road! How cool is that? He has promised to bring along a couple of the other Paladins to answer questions, too, so it should be fun. Stop by and say hi!

And our very own nominee is . . .  

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Hot by Stephanie Rowe
Grand Central Publishing, Forever - (0446619019)
Melanie Murray, editor

Congratulations, Stephanie!

Writing a 7,500 word story when I’m used to having 90,000 to play around with was a definite challenge. However, I fell in love with Rafferty O’Day from the minute he popped into my mind. By focusing on him, I was able to get his story told. I’ll share more about him and Josalyn, the woman he loves as time for publicatin grows nearer.

For now, I just wanted to share the cool cover!

CHRISTINE

Congrats Christine! Please contact Michele with your mailing address at michele@michelelang.com.

Michele would also like you to know that she’s having another contest on her blog to win a $50 Amazon gift card — to enter, leave a comment in her “March Sightings Contest” blog entry letting her know where you’ve found NETHERWOOD…more details here.

The winner of their choice of a signed copy of LORD OF THE FADING LANDS or LADY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW + a signed collector’s card for that book is…

Carolynn

Please email your mailing address to michelle@michellerowen.com and I will forward your info on…

Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday. :-)

Here’s the back blurb from the book—

The rough and rugged Talion, sexy warriors who stop at nothing to deliver justice, star in this steamy new paranormal series from Alexis Morgan.

He’s on a mission to annihilate the enemy.
A Talion enforcer, Ranulf Thorsen has served his people for a thousand years, delivering the eye-for-an-eye justice by which his kinsmen live. Weary of the centuries long fight, the fierce warrior with icy blue eyes had secluded himself on a mountain far away from the chaos below. Now the Grand Dame has called him one final time to face the most dangerous battle of his life—and the fate of his people is on the line.

But when he meets the beautiful heroine he has sworn to defend. . . .
Ranulf and his bitter rival and fellow Talion, Sandor Kearn, must find the bloodthirsty Kyth rogue who set a violent fire in a nightclub. The near-deadly blaze’s unlikely heroine, Kerry Logan, is also a Kyth, possessing the ancient Nordic people’s unique ability to manipulate human energy. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Who will protect his heart?
Kerry finds more than comfort in her warrior’s embrace, and Ranulf hungers to both defend and claim the petite powerhouse for his own. But with time ticking away and their lives on the line, Kerry proves she possesses the inner strength to match her Viking lover’s.

I’m excited to announce that my romantic suspense novel, MOVING TARGET is in stores today! It’s been reviewed by the Romantic Times and received an awesome review:

4 ½ Stars!

“The sex sizzles and the danger crackles in McCray’s hot new tale. Staying one step ahead is the name of the game in this dynamic story that races cross country and tests the loyalty and character of all involved. No matter what the genre, McCray is hot!”

~Romantic Times BOOK reviews

Here’s the contest:

***Everyone who posts today will go into a drawing for a set of the first three of my “Magic” series books!

This novel was quite a journey. Here’s a snapshot:

COMING OUT OF THE DARK
Ani King left her entire life behind when the Russian Mafia brutally murdered her family. The Witness Security Program has kept her safe for two years, but with one simple phone call her cover is destroyed—and there is only one man left who can save her.   
 

AND IN FOR THE KILL…
Protecting the brave, beautiful Ani became more than just a job a long time ago for Deputy Marshal Daniel Parker. And now, just days before the trial where she’s slated to give a damning testimony, the criminals who want her dead are on her trail. To keep Ani safe, Daniel has to keep her close—and her enemies closer. Because soon there’s nowhere for Ani to hide…but in his arms.
 

And here’s an excerpt for you:

Daniel came out of the bathroom with a distracted expression. Ani barely held back a groan of appreciation at how delicious he looked. He was wearing Wranglers, a plain black T-shirt, and blue overshirt. His hair was damp from his shower and his eyes filled with concern.

“Listen, Ani?” He braced one hand against the doorframe to the bathroom and glanced down at his booted feet. He raised his head and his gaze met hers. “I’m sorry about this morning. I don’t know how it happened.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Ani was sitting on the side of the bed and she gripped the sheets in her fists. “It’s okay, really.”

He raked his hand through his wet hair. “No, it’s not okay. I’ll need to get another Marshal assigned to your case as soon as possible.”

Panic rose like a geyser in her chest. She pushed herself from the bed and walked up to him. “No. Don’t leave me, please. You’re the only one I trust.”

Daniel placed his hands on her shoulders and the heat of his touch went straight through her. Her head was tipped back as she looked at him.

He was close enough to kiss. “I shouldn’t have called you so much this past year, Ani.”

“I needed you,” she whispered. “I looked forward to every single call.”

A serious expression crossed his face as he rubbed her shoulders. His jaw tightened “Goddamnit, I can’t do my job like this.”

She felt him slipping away from her and tears stung at the backs of her eyes. “I mean it. Don’t leave me, okay? I still need you.”

Daniel brought her roughly to him in a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest. He smelled of spice and male, just like the T-shirt she still wore. She heard his heartbeat and felt the comfort of his embrace.

He buried his nose in her hair. “I can’t do this. I want to, but I can’t.”

“Just give it some time, please?” She didn’t care if she sounded like she was begging. “I don’t know if I can go through this without you. Testifying against the Russian Mafia, seeing Dmitry Borenko . . .”

“I’ll take care of you, I promise.” Daniel’s deep inhale was audible. His voice lowered and he squeezed her tighter. “No way in hell is anything happening to you.”

He ran his palms up her arms then drew her away from him. She tilted her head up and saw him looking at her mouth. He looked hungry and the thrill it sent through her belly made her want to reach up and kiss him.

But no, she didn’t want to lose him.