Friday, May 4, 2012

Book Spotlight: Barcode: Legend of Apollo

by: Kashif Ross

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

synopsis:

Spencer's an infamously well-known “god” uninterested in his own fate. He turns nineteen-years-old on the first day of his last year at Colt Academy, the academic institution for gladiators. To celebrate, he unwillingly mentors a mysterious nerd, watches his family's helicopter plunge into the ground, and meets a strange Louisianan boy that may want to kill him. With the future of his family's fortune on the line, Spencer not only has to fight the occasional trip to Hades, but also train with his most hated childhood friend, discover the truth about his mother's death, and reestablish his legend as America's savior.

Excerpt:

I’m such a failure.

My instructors say I’m the first of the bloodline that isn’t naturally a top ranking student. Therefore, professors are inclined to boost my grades in order to keep “the great Apollo” at the top of his class.

I apologize dear ancestors. I will honor you by falling on my sword.

Damn. I don’t have a weapon yet. Give me a few days, folks.

I find a seat on a stone bench next to a small pond and watch as several lizard-fish swim and crawl through the shallow water. One has the flesh of a koi fish but the body of a garden lizard. The gold and black colors blur as my heavy eyes close and my head drops. I’m still jet-lagged.

As I open my eyes, a sharp kick lands between my ribs. Before my attacker can remove her foot, I grab it tightly and swing her into the pool.

The plague sitting in front of me with her butt dipped in an inch of water, and her arms folded neatly around her legs, just so happens to call herself Hannah’s best friend, though I knew her long before the two met.

This tomboy has a kick that’s out of this world. Her barcodes are powered by the goddess Atalanta. Every god and demigod has a code that they’re born with. That’s what separates us from Apes and humans. Some gods bond well with their bodies, while others pump so much power into their flesh that they can hardly stand. Ever. It can be a gift or a curse.

“You got my panties wet, jerk.”

“Why would a boy wear panties?”

“Don’t call me a boy, you ugly pig.”

“You walk like one, talk like one, but wait, you kick like a girl,” I tease, but my ribs scream in pain. Even more, I’m defiantly conscious that Michelle’s beauty competes closely with the most attractive girl on campus, Hannah. Still, she and I are mortal enemies that will one day battle to her death.

I’ve seen these visions in my sleep. Any morning I wake up after slaying her just so happens to be a great day. Yes. I’m very aware that many people consider these dreams, but if they are prophetic, The Writer does truly love me.

“What does Hannah see in you?”

“What do you mean? She said that in our first year you always gushed over my blue eyes, and wouldn’t stop raving about my face.” I watch the wicked witch’s eyes nearly leap out of their sockets, and her face turns pale. If the tattoos on her legs shine, I’ll need to flee for my own safety. “Geez. You look so upset; I almost think it’s true.”

For the past three years, Kashif Ross has been mainly known as a teacher. Yet, he's managed to pick up very random titles along the way. Previous jobs include Student Molecular Oncology Researcher, Camp Counselor, CGI Animator, Character Designer, and Professional Geek.

Now he's an author living in California's Bay Area. You can find posts about his random thoughts and adventures on his blog, kashifross.com.

Website / Facebook / Goodreads

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Book Spotlight: Satisfying the Curse

**If you are younger than 18, why not go play around Facebook for today?**

by: Kelly Gendron

I've not seen this available for purchase, but will let you know!

Synopsis:
Juliana Pratt is cursed. Her father's warned her many times she's destined to be a wanton just like her adulteress mother. It's why he's kept her in all-girls schools, hidden away from his elite society. However, when her father's arrested for murder, he needs Juliana to come into the spotlight to portray the doting daughter. Juliana agrees to the interviews and talk shows, but before she goes on the two-week tour of lies about her father, and with him behind bars and unable to stop her, she must first take care of her starving curse.

And Juliana picks the perfect man to get the job done. She secures him to a bed, but fails terribly at finishing the task. Her thoroughly teased curse is left famished. Later, Juliana discovers that the man she'd chosen to fulfill her every fantasy is also the agent assigned to protect her for the next two weeks. Her curse becomes relentless and will stop at nothing until the delectable NESA Agent T. Ryker has satisfied its hunger.

Agent T. Ryker prides himself on his discipline-that is, until his new assignment, Juliana Pratt, puts that renowned discipline to the ultimate test. Once he discovers that Juliana is the woman who drugged and handcuffed him to the bed in his hotel room, he also finds out her true identity. Ryker agrees to satisfy Juliana's ravenous curse, but he has his own reasons for doing it, and it's not just to give Juliana's body what it craves... for there is something else Agent T. Ryker wants from Juliana Pratt...


Excerpt:

It was dark. He was groggy. His body was heavy and exhausted. Something sweet, like the scent of lavender and pumpkin pie, wafted to Ryker's nose. He couldn't help but inhale deeply, taking in more of the arousing aroma. It almost soothed the throbbing in his head. He tried to lift his hand to massage the pulsating ache, but a strong bond stopped his wrists. He tried to open his weighty lids. The light stung his eyes. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust. Finally he saw her, a woman dressed as if she were going to a masquerade ball. The little black feathers didn't hide the bright green eyes peering back at him through the mask. Her hair was dark with auburn highlights. It was unruly, long, and tousled, but in a most alluring way. He scanned her tall, slender body that was covered only by a thin, black, silky dress. It was like a lingerie teaser on the cover of Playboy, something to lure you to buy the magazine so you could see the nude centerfolds. Hmm. Green eyes and dark hair? Well, this certainly is not little Miss Mindy, he thought, imagining that the sexy little blue-eyed blonde was probably sitting at the bar still waiting for him, thinking she'd been stood up.

He tried to sit up, but all of his extremities were pinned down. When he realized he couldn't move, he looked to his feet, then quickly to his hands. They were bound by leather straps, and a sheet was draped over the lower half of his body. He wiggled, and damn it, his bare ass slid against the mattress. What the hell is going on here? He was tied to a bed, naked, and he had no idea how he got there.

The last thing he remembered was going back to his hotel room for a shower. He was jetlagged from the plane trip and exhausted from the fight. He remembered sitting down on the chair just for a second to take a rest and... Wait! Had she drugged him? Is that where his headache was coming from? The fogginess? The water bottle. Ryker recalled only one in the fridge, so that he'd had to take that one. It must have been meant for him. Son of a fucking bitch!

"Don't be afraid." The woman's voice was low and provocative, but reassuring.

Ryker scowled at her accusation. "Afraid? I'm not afraid," he snapped. Pissed, he thought, but not afraid.

"It's a natural reaction," she pointedly stated. "You're vulnerable right now, and vulnerability comes from being unable to protect yourself." She took a few steps toward him. "But do you know what you're trying to protect yourself from?" She stopped beside the bed and tapped her finger against the leather restraint on his wrist.

"You're afraid because you fear what we all fear... pain. But I'm not going to hurt you."

Ryker suspiciously examined her, trying to figure out who the hell she was. He chuckled. "You've got me confused with the general population. It takes a lot more than some chick tying me up to scare me, and as for pain..."Ryker sneered at her, wishing he had some idea who his captor was.

"Pain is nothing more than a challenge. I find it easy to defeat."

"Hmm." She thoughtfully studied him. "After seeing you fight, I'm almost inclined to believe you."

"You were at the fight?" He asked the question nonchalantly, not wanting to give away his confusion. He tried to recall if he'd seen her there, but he decided that she wasn't exactly the forgettable type. She was definitely not a woman he'd pass by without a second glance, especially since he was a sucker for long legs and auburn hair. The cat-green eyes were enticing too.
"Yes. That's why I tied you up. You're very strong."

"Listen, sweetheart-"

She raised a finger as if to hush him, and Ryker-strangely enough-found himself hushed, wanting to hear what she had to say. "I want to touch you," she said.

His cock disobediently thumped.

She dropped her finger and crossed her arms over her breasts. "With your permission, of course. I have no intentions of raping you, and-"

Really? Did she just say that? Ryker snorted at the thought. "Raping me? You fucking drugged me and tied me up!" He shook his wrists. "Doll, if you're worried about violating my body without my damn permission, I think you're already guilty." He was no longer enticed by the idea of her touching him. His libido was silenced by the extreme anger coursing through his body.

"Yes. As I said you are very strong."

"Look, pumpkin..." Pumpkin? Did I really just call her that? Fuck! It was all he could smell. Ryker lifted his chest from the bed, getting as close to her as his restraints would possibly allow. "If you wanted to get laid, all you needed to do was ask," he seethed, speaking for his cock, for at that moment, anger was filling the head connected to his neck. And he wasn't a fan of being shackled to a hotel bed, no matter how hot she was. She didn't even flinch or back away from his aggression, and oddly enough, both of his heads were pleased about that. Ryker preferred a woman with a little gumption, and this one clearly had more than her fair share.

"I'm not entirely sure I want to have sex with you, and as I was trying to explain to you, that is why I needed to tie you up."

When the little feline admitted so matter-of-factly that she wasn't sure she wanted to get laid, both of his heads agreed that it came as a bit of a disappointment. Ryker settled back on the bed, his body still fatigued from the fight and whatever drug she'd spiked his water with. He inspected her. Was she trying to tell him she tied him up for her own safety? He was sure that she didn't really know him, because if she did, she would have known that there was no need for that, his discipline was indestructible. He had needs and urges just like everybody else, but even he'd never take a woman without her consent-not to say that once consent was established, the woman wouldn't find herself in a bad way, crying and writhing beneath his relentless body. "If you don't want to fuck, then what the hell do you want?"

She sighed. "As I said, I want to touch you."

Ryker was leery, not sure how to respond. What man wouldn't want this chick to touch him? Already, his rod bellowed to let her do it, but his loss of power was berating him, demanding that he regain control over the situation. He wasn't at all comfortable in the submissive position, something he'd never experienced before nor wanted to, and lying there like a shark without its teeth, he knew why. He needed to regain control while maintaining his strict discipline. That was what he prided himself on. After all, he had to. His blood was contaminated.

"Tell you what..." he said, nodding toward her dress. Cuffed or not, it was time for Ryker to grab a hold of the reigns. "Why don't you take that dress off, and we'll see how my body reacts to you," he said, drawing his gaze back up to her jade eyes, "and then I'll let you know if you may touch me."

She tilted her head considerately and turned to the door, perhaps thinking of running. Ryker hoped she wouldn't, because he didn't need to be left in that awkwardly helpless position, still tied to the hotel room bed. Her head slowly twisted back. She moved her hands to the bottom of the thin material and lifted.

Ryker held his breath. Beneath that teasing little dress, she wore a black lace push-up bra. A sneak peek of the start of her blushing nipples filled his eyes, but they were quickly drawn down to her flat stomach, where there was a small tattoo with some type of Chinese symbol arced above her belly button. He averted to her panties, which were also skimpy and black. Thump, thump. His cock responded fiercely beneath the sheet, demanding that Ryker allow her to touch him.

He glimpsed down at the lift in the sheet between his legs, and she followed his eyes. She lifted her chin, and a noticeable sly smile turned up her sweet, plump lips. "It appears your body is reacting appropriately."

Ryker groaned. There's nothing appropriate about getting turned on by a bitch who drugged me and kidnapped me...

About the Author:
Kelly resides in a quiet suburb somewhere between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, NY. Her backyard is small but secluded. During the summer you'll find Kelly in her sunroom. The winter months, she sits in her writing room. Her two favorites places to go and write after she gets home from her other job- representing a group of nursing facilities in the WNY area. The weekends are when she really gets lost. She forgets about the dishes, laundry and the family tends to ask her the same question twice. You can usually find her peeking up from her laptop saying "what?" as she tries to pull herself away from her story and come back to the world going on around her.

Writing, what other way is there to describe it- it's Kelly's conviction. After working in the human health field profession for nearly two decades, Kelly's aware of how deficient many people's daily lives are of true human connection. Through her writing she strives to reconnect readers with those all-too-rare feelings of unquenchable desire, heated passion and splendid euphoria.

Kelly has been faithfully writing for three years but did write her first book ten years ago. She put it down to raise her son as a single mom and then picked it back up when she and her son finally grew up. That's when she settled into her adult life and started to seriously write again. She's dabbled with paranormal stories, but recently she's been on a Romantic Suspense kick. The recipe for the men in her stories: dark and mysterious, strong and confident and, of course, besides magnificent bodies, and shameless aptitudes, they must have a heart you want to rip out of the pages (or your e-Reader) and take to bed with you at night.

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