Nobody's Perfect Cover Reveal with Unedited Excerpt, and Birthday Contest!

So happy to unveil the cover for NOBODY'S PERFECT, Damian and Savi's story. What an awesome birthday present! (Read on for an excerpt and link to a great birthday giveaway on Facebook.)


But whips AND chains. What's not to love? I don't know about you but I think it is beautiful. (Savi's a little underweight, but Master Damian will work on that with her.)

UNEDITED Excerpt from NOBODY'S  PERFECT © Kallypso Masters, 2012

For my excerpt, I take you to the opening pages of this book (#4 in the Rescue Me series). This is a few days before the scene in the epilogue of Nobody's Hero.

NOBODY'S PERFECT

Prologue

Savi circled another job listing in the classifieds as Christmas music played in the background. Office clerk. All her years of college and clinicals, she had finally achieved her dream of working as a social worker with young abuse victims. That work had ended abruptly three weeks ago. She needed to find a way to support her daughter and herself until her supervisor could fight Savi's recent firing with the higher-ups in the state's department of mental health services. Unraveling bureaucracy took time. She didn't have time.

Savi opened her laptop mini to update her résumé and do a cover letter, hoping to make it through several more letters before Mari got home from practicing for the children's pageant at church.

The doorbell interrupted her work some unknown amount of time later. She looked at the clock on her desk. Too early for Mari to be dropped off—unless something had happened. Heart hammering against her chest, Savi nearly ran to the front door and opened it, expecting to see one of the youth leaders from the church group.

Lyle.

Bile rose in her throat and she moved to slam the door again. Stupid. Why hadn't she looked through the peephole first? He wedged his foot into the doorway, keeping her from closing the door in his face.

"What kind of greeting is that for an old friend, Savannah?"

Not a friend. Enemy. She gasped to fill her lungs with much-needed air. Dangerous. She needed to get rid of him before Mari came home.

"What do you want, Lyle?"

"Invite me inside and we'll talk."

"You're not coming in. Now leave before I call the police."

He narrowed his eyes and Savi felt the familiar ligatures of fear circling her neck. Vile man. Could she fight him off?

"Let me in, Savannah, or you and your little girl will regret your misplaced bravery."

Marisol. Did he know where she was? Oh, God, she prayed. Don't let Mari come home early. She needed to get rid of Lyle. Now.

"Just state your business. I'm not letting you inside my…"

Without warning, Lyle leaned back then his body slammed against the door sending the edge of the wood into Savi's eye and cheekbone, hurtling her backward until she lay sprawled on the floor staring at his navy-blue dress pants and wingtip shoes. She shuddered as a memory enveloped her. Looking up at the angry man in the three-piece suit towering over her, she realized he didn't even muss a hair on his blond head.

"Ah, just where a slut like you needs to be, Savannah. At my feet. Now let's see if we can hear you scream the way you used to for me."

No! Memories of the degrading things he'd subjected her to at her father's orders, including a most shameful mark she could never erase, she turned over and got on all fours as she scrambled away. Just when she'd thought she was far enough away to stand up and set her feet to defend herself, Lyle's wingtip gouged into her side. The air whooshed from her lungs and she gasped to try and recover her breath.

"Your father asked me to bring you and his granddaughter to him. But I thought perhaps we would enjoy a little playtime first. For old time's sake. What your father doesn't know…"

Another blow struck her side near the same place and panic set in as her breathing became labored.

Breathe!

Maman, help me. Give me the strength to fight him off.

Savi pulled herself up using the hallway table and tried to regulate her breathing again. She turned to find Lyle smirking at her. Bastard. Picking up a brass candlestick from the table, she didn't hesitate as she swung it at his head, striking a blow she hoped had left him stunned. Not waiting for him to recover, she followed up by kicking him in the groin. He doubled over and fell to the floor. As he lay moaning, holding his privates as his head bled on her hardwood floor, she remembered the lessons in cutting off the blood flow to the brain that she'd learned from a veteran Marine who had studied with her in college. She cringed as she touched his neck, hating to place her hands anywhere on him, but finally found the point she sought in his neck and pressed—hard. She counted. By thirty seconds, Lyle's body grew even more limp. She didn't wait around to see how long he'd be out.

Running to the bedroom, she pulled out a suitcase to throw a few clothes into it, but when she tried to lift it, her breathing became constricted again, forcing her to leave it on the floor near the closet. After she filled half of it, she wheeled it to Mari's room and threw in some of her daughter's things, then zipped it up and wheeled it to the kitchen. After grabbing her purse and keys, she stumbled out the back door.

A black BMW sat parked behind her little blue Nissan. She glanced back at her bungalow. Home, but no longer her safe place.

No sign of Lyle yet, but she knew he wouldn't be unconscious forever. She fought to control her breathing again, but refused to escape into her head to dull the pain. Taking as deep a breath as she could and holding it, she swung the suitcase into the trunk and slammed the lid down. Oh dear Lord. She couldn't breathe! She pressed her arm against her chest and the place where Lyle had kicked her repeatedly as she opened the door, got behind the steering wheel, and turned the key in the ignition. She couldn't zone out now. She needed to get to San Miguel's…to Mari.

Then what?

Oh, Savi just breaks my heart! I so can't wait for her and Damian to be together and for him to slay her dragons! 

GIFT CARD & SWAG BIRTHDAY CONTEST

It looks like the book will be published May 31, so I continue to write and edit frantically. In the meantime, I'm celebrating my 54th birthday with a contest on at my Facebook author page . Yes, I am 54 today (April 24) so I am giving away some of the Rescue Me swag (bookmark, romance trading cards, pen, Master Adam "eyes on me" hand fan) AND a $54 gift card to the bookseller (winner's choice--Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, or Smashwords). Open internationally! Random drawing will be held April 25.


Head over to the author page to enter. Just "Like" the page and comment on the Birthday Blast Giveaway thread for a chance to win. (Look for the Nobody's Perfect photo and comment on that thread.)


Thanks for all who posted birthday greetings on my Facebook and Twitter walls! It's been an awesome day--and tonight I'll be having dinner with a fan! 


But first, I'd better get back to writing!

Six Sunday: Hey, chica! (Nobody's Perfect)

This is just a little later in the scene I pulled my Six from last week, an unedited Six from Nobody's Perfect (due out in late May 2012). Savi has shown up on Damian's doorstep. He's trying to determine what brought her to him, battered and bruised. At one point, he comments that he liked her better as a blonde, which he remembers from when they first met eight years earlier. Of course, a month earlier when he came upon her by accident, she was a brunette. Now she's a red head. He asked why she changed it.

She hadn't been a blonde in eight years. “None of your business.”

His irritation showed as he leaned toward her and she tried not to let him intimidate her, but he did. 

“Hey, chica, you just showed up on my doorstep out of nowhere, beaten up and on the run. You’re the one who asked me for help, so don’t go getting all defensive. I’m just trying to figure out what the hell’s going on.”

Excerpt from NOBODY'S  PERFECT © Kallypso Masters, 2012

Thanks for stopping by to read my Six this week. Each week, the new listing of Six Sentence Sunday (SSS) blogs go live at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday. This is a great way to find new authors to follow or read or to get exposure for your own writing! For a list of this week's participants in the SSS blog tour, go to http://www.sixsunday.com/. Search #sixsunday on Twitter, as well!

Two chances this week to win great prizes from Kally:
Hoppy Easter Blog Hop
and
Under the Covers Blog 
(excerpt from Damian & Savi eight years earlier)



Three e-books have been published to date in the RESCUE ME series. 

For a list of all of the books and links to purchase sites, 

go to the Books by Kallypso Masters tab in this blog site.  

Kally loves to find new friends 

on Facebook and Goodreads. 

Or you can follow her on Twitter.
  

Hoppy Easter Blog Hop: Contest & Giveaway RESCUE ME

Happy Easter, everyone! I wish I had a fun Easter excerpt to share from one of my books, but the closest I have is Christmas ones. But this is the HOPPY EASTER BLOG HOP, so I'll just hop right into the contest. 

For my contest, I'm going to pose a question about an upcoming book I'm writing in my Rescue Me series and let you all help me out with suggestions. I hope even those who haven't read the series yet will join in. You never know what might spark the way to go with this. My question is for a character in my May 2012 release, Nobody's Perfect. 


The winner of the contest will be drawn on/after April 9 at random from all who comment. (But if I choose your answer in the book, you just might get named in the Acknowledgements of an upcoming book. Don't worry--I'll ask for permission first to find out if and how you want to be listed.)


For those who want to quickly be brought up to speed on some of the characters in this series, the introduction, Masters at Arms, for FREE through April 16 at Smashwords using Coupon code DN98N. 


Da Prize: Winner's choice e-book in the Rescue Me series--plus some Kallypso Masters and Rescue Me "swag" that I'll be giving away at the Romantic Times Convention and elsewhere this year, including a set of three Romance Trading cards, a bookmark, a pen with "Ahh, Kallypso...the stories you tell" on it, and an 8-inch hand fan with this awesome graphic on it. (Ah, Master Adam!) Contest open internationally!

Now to the contest question, which I need to answer for an upcoming blog hop--and I need the answer by Monday. (No pressure!) Be sure to leave an e-mail address so we can contact you about the prize (or the acknowledgement). 


BACKGROUND: The hero in my next book is Damian Orlando, an Iraq War veteran amputee and the sensitive sadist at the Masters at Arms Club. He's a Mexican-American who grew up in Solana Beach, California (near San Diego). Damian was a sniper in the Marines. Family is more important to him than anything. Not sure what else will help you with the answer, but some of my readers may want to chime in with more background in their comments. 


DA QUESTION: What is Damian's favorite movie--and why?


Be sure to check out the contests on the other Hoppy Easter Blog Hoppers. There's a variety of heat levels from sweet to erotic and they're labeled accordingly at http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/. 


To learn more about the series and the books in it, click on the "Books by Kallypso Masters" tab above! Thanks for stopping by my page for the blog hop!

Six Sunday: The reveal (Nobody's Perfect)

After leaving you with such an awful Six last week, I thought I needed to bring you into the new story, where she has shown up on Damian's doorstep late one December night. This is an excerpt from Savi's point of view in Nobody's Perfect, due out in May 2012. (The same scene is shown from Damian's POV in the epilogue of Nobody's Hero.)


Oh, and I've decided Jennifer Morrison has the closest look to Savi eight years after Masters at Arms. Thanks to the input from my readers on my Facebook author page for helping me look over the potential candidates. Of course, Savi's hair is red in the scene I am about to share--but she's a natural blonde. 

“We need your help.”

“We?”

She turned away again to glance over the railing. When she turned back, she saw that Damián had followed her gaze. Time for the reveal. Savi removed the glasses.

Excerpt from NOBODY'S  PERFECT © Kallypso Masters, 2012

Thanks for stopping by to read my Six this week. Each week, the new listing of Six Sentence Sunday (SSS) blogs go live at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday. This is a great way to find new authors to follow or read or to get exposure for your own writing! For a list of this week's participants in the SSS blog tour, go to http://www.sixsunday.com/. Search #sixsunday on Twitter, as well!

Three e-books have been published to date in the RESCUE ME series. 

For a list of all of the books and links to purchase sites, 

go to the Books by Kallypso Masters tab in this blog site.  

Kally loves to find new friends 

on Facebook and Goodreads. 

Or follow her on Twitter.

  

Guest Cherise Sinclair: "Winter of the Wolf" with Rated X Excerpt

The Wild Hunt Legacy 2:
  Winter of the Wolf 
by Cherise Sinclair 

It's a thrill and an honor to have Cherise Sinclair as my guest this week. Cherise's Masters of the Shadowlands series were the first BDSM erotic romances I'd ever read, which inspired me to want to write in this subgenre, too. And her HOUR OF THE LION, book one in the Wild Hunt Legacy, which she released last year, was my first paranormal shapeshifter novel (and first menage). I fell in love with a secondary character there--an older shifter named Zeb. (Cherise and I have a thing for older heroes--and dominant males whose names start with Z apparently!)

So, when I asked her if she'd guest blog here with the release of her second book in the Wild Hunt Legacy, she agree and I squeeeeeeeeed just as loudly as I did last summer when she said she couldn't wait to read my first book. I won't keep you from her writing any longer, but be prepared. This one's NOT SAFE FOR WORK, because it's red hawt!

~ Blurb for Winter of the Wolf ~

After years in foster care, Breanne Gallagher has the stable life she’s always wanted, living with her foster-sister, working as a chef, enjoying her comfortable routines. Then one devastating night, a hellish creature invades her apartment and shatters her fragile existence. Shifting between monster and man, it slaughters her foster sister and assaults Bree. Alone, wounded, her beloved home tainted by gruesome memories, Bree flees to a tiny wilderness town, following her only clue to her past. 

Shapeshifting warriors, Zeb and Shay move from one pack to another, hunting the hellhounds which prey on their kind. Assigned to Cold Creek, they take over management of a decrepit fishing lodge for their "human" cover. Their first renter is a pretty human female who trembles at the sight of them—yet stands her ground. Furious at the hurt they see in her eyes, the protective nomads are drawn into helping her. Although no shapeshifter is ever attracted to a human, her scent is oddly compelling, and her ferocious determination to conquer her fears ignites longings neither loner ever expected to face.

Bree is healing, learning to shoot the biggest pistol she can find, and overcoming her fears, especially of the two deadly, disconcertingly attractive hunters. Her life is getting back on track…until she tries to save a little girl from a hellhound and discovers that everything she knows about herself is false.

~ Excerpt for Winter of the Wolf ~

Sucking a cock was amazing. Bree tongued the thick winding veins on Zeb’s shaft—tight, yet elastic. What else can I do? She tried alternating licking and taking him deep in her throat.

When his hand tightened in her hair, she had a second of panic. Her head jerked up, and, even as his grip released, she met his eyes. So black. Yet, despite the aroused flush in his face, he was watching her carefully, making sure she was all right. She smiled. Heavens, she loved doing this for him.

She paused to nuzzle the hair beside his cock. Here, his dark forest scent was muskier, richer. As she inhaled, her pussy thickened with blood, pulsing with hunger.

She tried to push her need aside, but it was sweeping her away, blurring her thoughts. Shay moved closer. His hands ran over her bottom, and his body heated the back of her thighs. As fire sizzled through her veins, she groaned.

Zeb jumped and sucked in a breath. Shay chuckled. “Do that again, a leannan. My bràthair likes it.”

Really? She groaned again. Hummed. Growled. And this time when Zeb’s fingers fisted in her hair, she didn’t panic. She giggled.

“You’re killing me, little female.” Zeb’s voice had gone an octave lower, sending tingles across her skin.

Rather than answering, she started bobbing her head, sucking with each upstroke.

“Very nice,” Shay said. His resonant voice filled in all the gaps that Zeb’s had left, as if adding the other melody to Pachelbel’s Canon. He clasped her hip with one hand, using the other to guide his cock to her entrance.

Oh please, now. She choked, lost her rhythm, and Zeb’s hand guided her back into it.

“Breanne, whatever you do to Zeb, I’ll do to you.” Shay slowly pushed inside her, filling her, stretching her.

Her whole body shivered in delight, in growing need. Deeper. Pound me. Take me.

“If you want slow, then slow down,” Shay said. “You stop. I’ll stop. Suck him deeper, and I’ll go deeper.” His cock pulled out until it was only an inch inside her. Not moving.

Nooo. She wiggled to no avail before realizing her lips were closed lightly over the head of Zeb’s shaft. Not moving. Oh. As she lowered her head and sucked his cock into her mouth, Shay’s erection pushed back inside her, rolling a wave of heat before it.

She lifted her mouth off the shaft in her mouth. The shaft in her pussy pulled out.

A shiver ran through her. Need more. She took a firmer grip on the base of Zeb’s cock, and Shay’s hands tightened on her hips. As her lips closed over the velvety head, sweat trickled between her breasts. The room seemed to have turned into a sauna. Her pussy throbbed…almost matching that of the erection in her hands.

She ventured a look at Zeb. His lids were half-closed as he watched her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Shay’s jaw was tight, and his muscles almost vibrated with his desire to pound into her. Had she ever felt so needed? Wanted?

But he didn’t move. He was waiting for her. Her lips curved. Sneaky Shay. We’re all going to enjoy this.

She pulled Zeb into her mouth, so fast and hard that he groaned.

Shay thrust into her so deep and hard that electricity ripped through her body.

Work it, Bree. She did, bobbing and sucking and doing her best to deep-throat. Faster and harder. Shay pounded into her, faster and harder, exactly matching her movements. Her thoughts whirled away as the need inside her grew, as she clenched around the cock inside her.

When she lifted her head, Zeb’s fingers in her hair tightened, not painfully but firmly. His thighs pressed against her sides, the muscles rigid. He was close.

The base of his cock thickened, and with a desperate growl, he tugged her back onto his shaft. She relaxed her throat, taking him deeper…and he came. Startled but delighted, she swallowed frantically, and the salty, musky taste shoved her arousal to a higher pitch.

Eyes closed, he groaned in satisfaction. A glow of joy ran through her. I put that contented expression on his face. Smiling, she licked him gently as he softened.

Shay had paused.

“Fuck, Bree.” Zeb opened his eyes. His hand cradled her face. “That was beautiful. Thank you.” His surprised gratitude brought tears to her eyes. Did no one ever put this man first? He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “Your turn, little female.” He glanced at Shay.

Shay’s hands tightened on her hips. “Hang on, a leannan, I’m going to take you hard.”

Rather than frightening her, the thought was perfect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also available now in many at: 

All Romance eBooks

Smashwords

Coming soon to Barnes & Noble!

For more information about 
Cherise Sinclair and her books, visit her Web site!

Six Sunday: Savannah's Torture (Masters at Arms)

WARNING: This scene includes a description of an incest victim's torture. 


This week's Six Sunday blog is much darker than my previous ones, because I am immersed right now in writing Nobody's Perfect, which will finally bring healing and justice for my most broken character, Savannah Gentry, from Masters at Arms. (See below for a link to a free copy if you haven't read it. I also will post a link for survivors seeking healing of their own.) 


A 19-year-old incest victim in this scene, by the time she reappears eight years later in the series in a scene in Nobody's Hero, she will have become Savi Baker and learned to cope and heal many parts of her abusive past.  

But there is one abuse session that has been burned into her memory and is something she hasn't been able to share with her therapist or anyone. As I prepare to write the scenes where Damián will discover what she refers to as "her shame," I went back to reread the scene in Section Two of Masters at Arms. It's written as backstory even in the prequel, because it's so horrific, but it's necessary to see where she has been in order to appreciate how far she has come--and to take her the rest of the way home to healing her psyche and her body, merging them again so that she can have the life she deserves. Here's Savannah at nineteen. The readers on my author page on Facebook are helping me find a model/image to age her to the 27/28 she will be in Nobody's Perfect.

Setup: She is sitting in a restaurant with her father's business partner and henchman, who is reminding her of her place, her shame, as they wait for two potential clients who will be allowed to use her body in a torture scene that night to help cement a business relationship. I've stopped short of the most graphic memories, because you may not have come here expecting that from me. The speaker is Lyle.

"...They’re going to love finding your secret. They love shit like that.”

When Lyle’s words registered, bile rose in her throat. If she’d eaten today, she’d have vomited. Last month, Lyle had restrained her face down on her father’s desk in the home that should have been her haven. Her legs had been spread open and secured, while her father’s weight held her down so she would remain still enough. 

The good news is that a retired Marine has given me a scenario for Nobody's Perfect that will include a justice scene for Savi. There's nothing like a little Marine justice--but throw in a sadist and it really will be very satisfying, if long overdue.

For those seeking help to heal their own abusive pasts, please go to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network for resources). 

Thanks for stopping by to read my sad Six this week. Each week, the new listing of Six Sentence Sunday (SSS) blogs go live at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday. This is a great way to find new authors to follow or read or to get exposure for your own writing! For a list of this week's participants in the SSS blog tour, go to http://www.sixsunday.com/. Search #sixsunday on Twitter, as well!

Today after 12 noon Eastern I will be drawing for the winner of the great prize package in the Small Press Treasures Giveaway Blog Hop entry.  You also can get a free copy of Masters at Arms there with a coupon code at Smashwords.