Posts Tagged ‘Inez Kelley’

She’s my song, my woman, my everything

When I began writing TIME DANCER, I had a very specific vibe that I wanted for the hero. Darach is fearsome and brave but new to the world around him. So many things are strange to him, from the physical body he now has to the language he must speak. What is familiar is his nature, his magical sense of who he was at his core. He’s designed to be a tracker, a guide. His power comes from the Earth and he has great respect for the land, many times more than he has for people.

This led me to research many Native American myths and stories. But the Land of Eldwyn is a fantasy place with a medieval flavor. How would a Native American inspired character fit into such a world? In some ways, perfectly and in others, not at all.  Which for my purposes was perfect.

The physical parts were easy. He is rugged, rock-hard and stone-solid. Like all of the spells called to Eldwyn, he is beauty personified, this time in a masculine package. His hair is long and his animal-instinct strong. Dressed in a male-version of simple silk, he also carries deadly claws and immense magic.

But unlike any other spell I’ve written about, Darach is homesick. He misses his realm and clings to its memory. Many times, he tries to describe it to Jana, his charge and his love, but there aren’t words to do it justice.

The words intrigued me. I used several Native American languages to craft Darach’s native tongue. Zapotec, Mohican, Navajo and several others. The lyrical yet sharp syllables fit my image of Darach, raw beauty wrapped in harsh lines and muscle.

So how did that translate into the story? For one, he calls Jana his nayeli. Nayeli(Nay-el-ee) is a Zapotec phrase whose translation loosely means ‘I love you’. Darach uses it in another way, with a different stated meaning, but every time he says it, I believe he is telling Jana he loves her.

And if there is any doubt, I think this half-translated passages proves it:

 

A pleading rhythm filled him, half his language, half hers. “Please…kimta…I need her…WazannaOka‘itiumu, oka ehnita, oka muurícha… She’s my sun, my moon, my water…oka ‘atupáma… She’s my smile…Oka chol, oka no’ol, oka nayeli… She’s my song, my woman, my everything… Please…kimtaKonoronkhwua… I love her.”

TIME DANCER

Everyone has a duty in the royal castle—everyone except Jana Haruk. Despite her promising magical bloodline, her gift is weak. As a Reminiscent Seer, she knows only what happened in the past, not what will happen in the future. When the crown prince’s life is threatened, Jana vows to do everything she can to help him—including asking the queen, a powerful sorceress, to lend her some magic.

The queen summons Darach, a spell in human form. The arrogant and mysterious man soon discovers there’s more to Jana than meets the eye: she’s a time dancer, someone with the ability to move backward through time in her dreams. With Darach as her anchor, Jana can explore the past and try to figure out who is behind the attacks on the prince.

Despite her attraction to him, Jana knows little about the handsome warrior. The past is tying them closer to each other with every trip, but Darach is bound to return to his homeland when his mission is complete…and their time together is running out.

Book three of the Eldwyn Chronicles(a stand-alone novel) You can read more of the Land of Eldwyn in Myla by Moonlight and Salome at Sunrise. All stories are separate and stand-alone.

Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/  Follow Inez on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley

My affair with audiobooks

by Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisitions team

How much can change in a year? A lot, actually! When I wrote my virgin blog post back in August 2010, we only had five Carina Press titles available in audiobook format. As of today, we have over a hundred. Yay! This includes everything from romantic suspense to science fiction to contemporary romance to steampunk – so definitely something for everyone’s aural pleasure. :)

If you’re like me and you feel like you never have enough time to cram in all the reading you’d like to do, audiobooks may be the answer. I think they’re a wonderful, convenient way to get to books in my to-be-read pile, and I frequently find that I savor the reading experience more when I hear stories read out loud. There’s just something about the spoken word that forces you to be more present in the moment and focus on the characters and plot.

I think audiobooks also transport me back to my childhood, because they remind me of a pleasant time when it was normal and natural to sit on the floor in front of the teacher and hear her take us into a story with her voice.

Now that I’m a so-called grown-up, I find audiobooks help counteract the boredom and tedium of commuting. In this new-fangled techie age we live in, they’re also incredibly easy to access, whether you have an iPod, iPhone, mp3 player or Kindle. I take both the subway and bus en route to my day job here at Love Central, so I definitely appreciate the opportunity to escape into a different world during those forty minutes I’m in transit. I know a lot of my colleagues also listen to audiobooks on the drive in to and from work and rave about it.

So if you’re itching to try something new or just haven’t checked out an audiobook in an age, now’s your chance. Head over to Audible.com and see what tickles your sonic fancy. You can find a great selection of our Carina Press audiobooks here. The good news is that the fine people at Audible are always busy producing unabridged audio versions of our upcoming titles, so be sure to check back every month for our new releases. You can also find them at iTunes and Amazon.com.

And if you come across something you’re interested in but are not completely sure about, have a listen! Each of our audiobooks have samples available, so you can see if you like the sound of what you’re hearing before you commit to anything.

Once five o’clock hits today, I’m going to sink my ears into the sexy contemporary romance Turn It Up by Inez Kelley. What are you listening to these days? Or what’s your all-time favourite audiobook?

Let’s Talk About Sex with Dr. Hot and the HoneyPot – Inez Kelley

“Hello, lovers. Welcome to a special edition of WTXT’s Let’s Talk About Sex with Dr. Hot and the Honeypot LIVE from the Carina Press blog! We’re going to bare it all and give you a little sneaky peek behind the scenes of TURN IT UP, a sassy little novel featuring US!”

“Honey, you can bare whatever you want. I’m not dropping my pants for anyone else.” Bastian’s rich butterscotch voice held a note of iron. “You’ve talked about my sex life, or lack thereof, quite enough to a certain writer who shall remain nameless.”

Charie’s laugh echoed from the open back of the mobile van, registering near red on the vocal gauge. “Lighten up, Doc. And if you’d dropped those pants before *edited by Inez for spoiler content* then Nez’s book would have had three big old neon Xs across the front.”

He looked up at the sky and exhaled loudly into his headset mike. “And this, listeners, is why I never tell her what movie we’re going to go see. Honey doesn’t get the whole SPOILER idea.”

“It’s a romance novel. A happily ever after is guaranteed, or at least implied. I didn’t tell them who won our bet.”

“You better not, either.” Hot wind ruffled the dandelion-gold of his hair, the hue dark next to the white van. “Some people actually enjoy being surprised. They like the whole anticipation thing, the excitement that builds into a mania, the look forward to the next day or the next page or the next minute.”

Naughtiness inched out and carried across the airwaves on her purr. She walked her fingers up his chest, each nail climbing higher and higher. “I do like anticipation, the building excitement, the pulse-pounding, breathless wait for that one moment when everything—” She dropped her eyes to his zipper “— and I do mean everything, comes together at the end.”

“Stop.” He shot her a warning glare. “This is a PG blog. Do you want to give Angela James a coronary?”

Jealousy struck like a cobra, swift, sharp and painful. Charlie’s shoulders straightened and her chin lifted. “Angie’s a big girl. She can handle it.”

Mischievousness played around his mouth, curving his bottom lip fuller than the top. “Probably, but I did take an oath, Honey. If anyone needs medical help, I can’t just stand by and watch.”

“She’ll be fine. There’s no reason for you to go into medicine-man-mode. No one gets mouth to mouth from you but me. She’s got her own guy.”

One tawny eyebrow arched. “So does Deb Nemeth. She edits all sorts of erotic stuff, but I seem to remember her having a few red-faced moments while editing all the wicked things you thought about.”

“Me? Want to tell our listeners about you and that shower? The one with the peach lube?”

High color erupted across his cheeks. “Tell me that did not make it in the final edit.”

“Oh yes, it did. Every warm, wet, peachy stroke.”

“You are evil.” Bastian paced away three steps until the headset cord halted his movement. Whipping around, he crossed his arms and breathed through his nose. “That was kind of a personal moment, you know.”

“Get a grip, Doc.” She bit her lip but a giggle leaked out. “Well, I guess you did that in the shower.”

His tightened mouth barely let his words escape. “It was doctor’s orders.”

“Uh-huh, sure it was. Come on, you’re always telling our listeners that masturbation is a normal human behavior and nothing to be ashamed of. Practice what you peach, I mean, preach.”

“Normal, yes. Private, yes. It didn’t need to be splashed across the page.” His eyes pinched closed as her laugh rang out. “Bad choice of words. You know what I mean. Go to a commercial break or something, will you? I’m dying here.”

Going to her tiptoes, she popped a fast kiss across his lips. “Don’t worry. I got your back… and your front, if you’d let me.”

“Honey,” he growled.

“Oh, all right, spoilsport.” Charlie stepped away and eased the remote console’s master lever higher. Theme music filled her earpiece.

“While Doc takes a breather to cool down, check out our story, TURN IT UP by Inez Kelley. Talk is foreplay and, oh boy, did we use it. This is WTXT’s Let’s Talk About Sex with Doctor Hot and the Honeypot, Live on the Carina Press blog, where no great story goes untold…even if it does come with peach lube.”

“HONEY!”

“Oops! Be sure to follow @DrHotBastian and @HoneyPotCharlie today on Twitter at #DocNHoney. Or you can talk to us in the comments below. We’re LIVE, after all. We’ll answer unless the SPAM filter eats us. We’re talking about sex, Carina, love and anything you want to throw at us. We’ll pick one commenter and one tweeter to win FREE copies of TURN IT UP! Talk to us, lovers.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

TURN IT UP

Dr. Bastian Talbot and self-proclaimed sex goddess Charlie Pierce heat up the air waves with their flirty banter as radio hosts Dr. Hot and the Honeypot. Off the air, they’re best friends…but Bastian wants to be so much more. He wants Charlie—in bed, and forever.

Problem is, Charlie doesn’t do commitment. Sure, she’s had X-rated fantasies of Bastian, but he was always just a friend—until he impulsively proposes and unleashes the lust they’ve been denying for years. Charlie’s willing to explore where their wild chemistry leads, but she won’t marry him. And he won’t have sex with her until she accepts his proposal, despite her seductive schemes.

What are Dr. Hot and the Honeypot to do? Ask their listeners for advice on how to tame a sex kitten and turn a perfect gentleman into a shameless lover. The Race to Wed or Bed is on…who will turn up on top?

Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/ Follow her on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley