The Importance of John Barrowman

photo credit: John Barrowman via photopin (license)

If you've seen John Barrowman on television, it's probably as Malcolm Merlyn in Arrow or maybe Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who or Torchwood. These are both gritty, serious characters, befitting Barrowman's almost ethereal 6-foot handsomeness.

But if you've read anything else about Barrowman, you know he's an entertainment powerhouse--and fun. Dressing up as Squirrel Girl for Comic Con? Come on, that takes a sense of the absurd that calls to my heart.

I recently had a trailer made for my August 23 release, Mind Mates. And when I got the proof, I was floored. I thought, "This is the most awesome trailer I've ever seen." Problem was, there was absolutely no sense of the absurd. And though Mind Mates is packed with sizzling sex and high-octane action, there's fun too.

My question to the hubby was--do I accept it as is? Or do I ask for something funny in there and possibly ruin it?

We often value serious and gritty over sparkling and fun. We often choose things based on the gritty, real pull of the conflicts in the blurb. Hubby said if there's sass or wit, that's a bonus. Smart guy.

So I accepted the trailer as is (though next time I'll remember to ask for the other vendors at the end). Here it is. What do you think? Did I make the right call?




Here's an excerpt, one which shows a bit of Gabriel's somewhat skewed sense of humor (and my sense of absurd language, lol). Was hubby right? Is the fun a bonus?

Enjoy this excerpt from Mind Mates (Pull of the Moon book 2)

Gabriel has just rescued his employee, wolf shifter Emma Singer, from a nasty fall. She's on her feet but still wrapped in his arms when Emma's alpha Bruiser stalks in.

Bzz-bzzt. A buzz like an angry hornet stung wizard prince Gabriel Light’s ears the moment the predator slunk into the store. 

Cap’n Crunch me. Gabriel had magically alarmed the door for just such an event, but why now, when he’d finally gotten a semi-innocent excuse to wrap his arms around this warm bundle of soft, sweet-smelling heaven?

Emma. It felt like he’d been dying to hold her forever. Now, with her in his arms, was the first time in months he could breathe.

But that buzzing alarm told him the approaching beast was male, a wolf shifter, and, from that level of sting, Emma’s alpha. The beast was not going to appreciate seeing her in another man’s arms.

She started trembling, no doubt in response to the alpha’s rampant fight-club stench, a musk even Gabriel could smell. He tried to ease her tension with a joke. 

“Hey, Emma. How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?”

She skewered him with a disbelieving stare, icing his flesh. He’d blundered, she didn’t understand he was trying to comfort her, nobody gets my skewed sense of humor… Then she gulped and said, “Eight? Like, um, eight legs?”

Immediately his world brightened. “Nope. Ten tickles. Get it? Tentacles?”

She managed a tiny laugh, tinkling bells to his ears, and her body relaxed slightly under his arms. “That was such a dad joke.”

He loved that she, of all the people he knew, actually laughed at his jokes. He smiled into her eyes like a besotted fool.

Of course, that was when the he-wolf prowled into view. 

Gabriel wondered how far he could get with the wolf by protesting his intentions were honorable. Probably not far. The creature was only barely in human form. 

The wolfman was medium height but had a face like a dented shovel and a body like a trash compactor, his muscles-on-muscles popping in a stringy T-shirt that barely qualified past no-shirt-no-shoes-no-service.

Worse, with the hair sprouting everywhere, nose elongating like a snout, and lengthening canines, this alpha was dangerously pissed.

Hard to reason with a pissed-off wolf. They tended to bite first then ask questions…never.

Yet instead of releasing Emma, Gabriel’s hand dropped from her clenched jaw to open protectively on her back.

“The fuck?” the wolfman snarled.

Something inside Gabriel snarled right back.

When a powerful wizard prince comes out of hiding to save his sister, he is forced to team with a pretty shifter—one with ugly, dangerous powers of her own. As vengeful enemies close in, a forbidden attraction flaming between them, the two race to find a mysterious key.
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HG1F7G2/
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1124016228?ean=2940153092669
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/645333
All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-mindmates-2068656-140.html
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mind-mates/id1127456235
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Mary_Hughes_Mind_Mates?id=KAFqDAAAQBAJ
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/mind-mates
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HG1F7G2/

Witch Princess or Alpha Wolf--which are you? Plus PARTY Wednesday

You may be a witch princess if--
* You're Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.
* You saw all the Harry Potter movies in the theater.
* You custom design your cars in your head, and secretly wish you could make them fly.

You may be an alpha wolf if--
* Your voice holds a growling edge when you're feeling the burn.
* Your first reaction to danger is "Everyone run. I'll fight!"
* You're Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius.

Heart Mates (Pull of the Moon, Book 1)

Witch plus wolf? They’re allergic. Except no one told their hearts.

Shifters and witches? Forbidden on pain of death. Might as well stick a fork in a light socket. Yet those are the kind of sparks witch princess Sophia Blue feels when she meets wolf shifter Noah in her aunt’s bookstore.

But Sophia is stuck. Her aunt is missing and Noah, the last person to see her, is Sophia’s only hope. If not for that and her aunt’s new, cute little doggie, Sophia would run as far as she could from the sexy, hard-hewn alpha.

Noah’s stuck too. Before disappearing, the aunt hit him with a hex gone horribly wrong—he’s the doggie. By day he’s fifteen pounds of yippity-yip, and with five anti-alpha wolves nipping at his heels, that’s deadly dangerous. Only Sophia can help him, but she has lost her magic.

Then an evil mage from Sophia’s past shows up with murder on his mind, and all Noah’s instincts shout to protect the woman his misguided heart thinks is his mate.

Warning: Sinfully sexy alpha thrown together with a hot witch in a small town. Sass, sparkle, a meddling aunt, snafus, growling, fighting, and oh yeah, sex. Might want to get up to date on your shots.

http://www.maryhughesbooks.com/PullOfTheMoon.htm#HeartMatesAnchor

eReader Links
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SKPXWYS/
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-mates-mary-hughes/1121104081?ean=9781619225220
Samhain: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5408/heart-mates
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/heart-mates-1
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/heart-mates/id960584564?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Mary_Hughes_Heart_Mates?id=2X1VBgAAQBAJ
All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-heartmates-1733482-140.html
UK Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SKPXWYS/
UK Nook: http://www.nook.com/gb/ebooks/heart-mates-by-mary-hughes/9781619225220

PARTY MAY 6

Many authors, great giveaways!

Join me and my friends from Lust With A Laugh along with lots of other great authors as we party on Facebook May 6 11am-3pm and 6pm-10pm Eastern Daylight Time. Click here for the latest information.

And be sure to check out my GIVEAWAY on the tab above!

Fun with Werewolves and Vampires--PLUS LAST DAY on pbk GIVEAWAY

Ever have one of those days months years? This morning in the shower I mentioned to my husband February felt like 3 years, and not the good, relaxing-on-the-beach kind. How long did February last for you?

So here, for all of us, are a couple fun-and-or-hot excerpts from my two newest releases, Masked Attraction, and Downbeat paperback!

And be sure to get in on the last day of my Downbeat giveaway. Three copies in paperback up for grabs!

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/126039

Masked Attraction
Pull of the Moon prequel.





Part of Entranced: A Halloween Box Set
 
The masks are coming off.

Daniel Light loved Zoe Blackwood when he was a gangly dork. Now a powerful wizard prince, a masked ball gives Daniel a new chance to woo her. Coming between them is an ancient parchment with a deadly prophecy.

Warning: A wolf shifter on the cusp of mate-or-else, a smokin' hot wizard who won't let anything stand in his way, and fun in closets.

From Masked Attraction

“Let’s you and me get to know each other, Lady Mystery.” 

She gritted her teeth and told herself she was overreacting. Flirt. Enjoy. “Sure.”

Zeus put an arm around her shoulders. His fingers traipsed along her collarbone until they took a walk on the wild side of her sternum, spelunking down her cleavage.

Enough was enough. She cleared her throat to make some classy excuse to beat his head into the wall.

Before she could, a buzz at the door distracted her. She glanced up as the crowd parted.

A blond man glided in like a panther, stopped, and stood there, as tall and confident as if he owned the place. He was built like a true Greek god, inverted triangle torso on long, strong legs. His golden hair shone lustrous in the electric light. His strong features accented by a rakish black mask drew the eye of every female in the room.

Zoe peeled off Zeus’ arm and moved from him as if he’d never existed.

The blond man’s gaze swung to her—and stopped.

The instant connection sang in her ears, in her blood, so powerful and shocking it kicked the air out of her lungs.

The man started toward her, cutting through the crowd like a sleek ship.

Her breath returned in quick, excited puffs.

His scent hit her as he neared, catapulting her back in time to cheerleading sweaters and smoking blunts in the woods…and the burnt scent of an almost-failed chemistry class.

“Damn my paws,” she muttered.

Daniel Light.

Downbeat (Biting Love Book 7)

  

Kobo,  ARe, iTunes, AmazonUK, AmazonAU
Samhain Print

Striking the right note could shatter more than their hearts.
 

After an attack that slaughtered his family, vampire Dragan Zajicek walled off his heart and went on a sixteen-hundred-year rampage with the bad boys of history.

Now a rock star of the concert podium and master freelance spy, he’s taken the baton for a small orchestra near Chicago to investigate rumors of a monstrous, undefeatable vampire dubbed the Soul Stealer.

But it’s the lovely, unassuming Raquel “Rocky” Hrbek who mesmerizes him from the first touch of her luscious lips on her flute.

Rocky, a shy shadow scarred by middle school cruelty, is mystified as to why core-meltingly gorgeous Dragan would notice a mouse like her. As his stolen kisses draw her dangerously close to the edge of her carefully constructed comfort zone, he exposes her secret—she’s investigating the monster herself.

As their quest draws them closer together, the monster zeroes in on the woman Dragan’s rebellious heart tells him is his mate. Now they must find a way to destroy the indestructible before Rocky is utterly consumed. And Chicago is bathed in the blood of innocents.

 
Warning: Contains a master of seduction and symphonies, an awkward and innocent flutist, small-town humor, heart-stopping action, and an exodus to Iowa. Oh, and the cheese balls are ba-a-ack—and deadlier than ever.



Second kiss.

I tried to see it from his point of view. The man wanted help getting around. A few directions, not my soul. Simple neighborliness would do. I breathed deep, and managed to rasp out, “Sure. No problem, Mr. Zajicek.”

He smiled and slipped his arm around mine. “Dragan, please.” His hip bumped against my side as we walked.

My respiration rate shot through the roof. I gritted my teeth. Simple neighborliness, yeah, right. Like your basic neighborhood raging inferno. “Okay. First names. I’m Rocky.”

“Rocky? That’s a boy’s name.”

“It’s a nickname,” I admitted.

“Ah. And your real name?”

Yes. My “real” name.

My friend, Nixie Emerson, once told me names have power. In her case, she went by her kicky middle name instead of “Dietlinde”, her dull-as-dust first. For her, that was appropriate. Nixie was short and punk and smart as a whip—and as smart-mouthed too, though she reined it in around her new baby.

In my case though, my “real” name was not appropriate. Anti-appropriate, in fact. My mom named me Raquel, after Raquel Welch, the sex-goddess of the sixties. So while Nixie’s name was right and good, mine was a joke. And considering my nega-love-life, a rather nasty one at that. “Rocky’s good enough, Mr. Zajicek.”

“Dragan,” he murmured, somehow pulling me closer. The heat of his body licked flame-like up my side. I hissed and shifted my flute bag between us, but as a defense it backfired. Zajicek simply plucked the bag from my hands. “Shall I carry that?”

“You don’t have to. No, wait—”

“Nonsense. It is quite light.” He shifted my bag onto his own shoulder, not the one between us. The strap wrapped itself over his muscles like a second skin, and I swear it moaned happily.

Then Zajicek curled one hand around my waist and pulled me so close I could barely breathe. I tried to, really I did. But every tentative inhale brought the scent of him, cotton and sandalwood and burning masculinity. Every movement of my ribcage scraped the side of my breast against his arm, until I was trembling with the need to rub blatantly against him. Every breath drew cool air over my tongue…yikes, I was lolling like a dog in heat.

My glasses fogged up, and I stumbled again.

Both Zajicek’s arms went around me. I felt incredibly clumsy and stupid, making him rescue me continually from my own feet. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Zajicek—”

“Dragan,” he murmured, cupping my chin and lifting my face for another soft kiss. His lips touched mine, his mouth moving in tiny circles as if to warm my skin. He didn’t need to. I was plenty warm already—and a little buzzy.

“You taste wonderful.” His mouth opened and his tongue teased the seam of my lips.

I jumped at the touch but Zajicek held me, so securely I relaxed into his arms. It seemed to be some sort of cue for him to lick me and slide his tongue between my lips, encouraging me to part them.

He asked so nicely, with tiny hot licks. So I did.

The instant my mouth opened he devoured me. His mouth slanted over mine and his jaw dropped. Heat rushed in. I gasped. Shocked and a little scared, I fell back, but he stepped with me, wrapped his arm around my back and trapped me good. He had to bend quite a ways to do it.

My back arched like a bow, my breasts crushed to his chest, my hips to his thighs. Something stirred against my belly, sending a jolt shearing through me. My mouth tingled and my breasts tingled and I was getting really tingly between my legs.

I slid my hands between us to try to wedge open some space. All I succeeded in doing was fitting my palms to the hardest pectorals in the world.

The tingling between my legs was starting to drive me insane.

Zajicek’s mouth left mine to trail licks and nibbles down my jaw to my throat. He nuzzled me there, an odd dark rumble coming from his chest, almost a lion’s purr. “You smell divine. Ah, to taste you fully.” His tongue rasped over my pulse.

Somewhere along the way his hand had found my breast and was kneading and cupping while he sucked gently on the tender skin of my neck until my head spun.

Then his fingers found my raised nipple and plucked.

A thousand Christmas lights went on in my head. I shrieked.

Those Pesky Clothes--Why I like Writing Vampires

photo credit: Chuckumentary via photopin cc

So I have the first book in a new series coming in 2015 (Heart Mates, April 28 and I can't wait to show you the cover!!) that features an ex-witch and an alpha wolf shifter. Writing it, I was really getting into it, great plot, lots of fun and lots of sex...until I came to the first time they tried to go sub-clothesa, as it were.

I had to keep track of each item of apparel, whether it was off, on, or askew. Had she removed his T-shirt? Had he? Jeans...briefs...SOCKS???

Coming November 11

Vampires are so much easier. A 100-year-old vampire in my Biting Love universe can just blow his body into mist--and the clothes drop through.

Vampires, at least the kind who can mist or magic clothes away, are the closest thing to a zipless encounter as you can get.

Which reminds me...check out my latest misting vampire. Aiden Blackthorne was turned in the early 1800s, kidnapped as a boy, and trained to be an assassin. Present day--the smooth assassin meets bumbling Sunny Ruffles, a cop who keeps trying to arrest him. Hilarity and hotness ensues.

Another great thing about vampires? Magic tongues.

For healing. Their saliva heals wounds. Geez, what did you think I meant? ;)

Assassins Bite available for preorder now

Assassins Bite (Biting Love, Book 8) 
Only her light can burn away his shadows. 

On her first night as a police officer, Sunny Ruffles takes down three felons…only to be attacked by a gang of vampires who are a whole new level of hurt. Then a mysterious shadow man intervenes, saving Sunny before he disappears. She runs after him, telling herself her pursuit has nothing to do with his sharp, stubbled jaw, his powerful shoulders, or his sexy-as-hell, kissable lips.

 Rescuing the humans makes Aiden Blackthorne late for a critical meeting with the vampire Nosferatu’s daughter. Yet clompy, bumbling Sunny draws him back like wild honey. He kisses her, and he’s almost got her down to her underwear when a bomb meant for him explodes.

The last thing Aiden wants is to drag Sunny into his hellish conflict with Nosferatu. But Aiden’s a loner whose only friend has mysteriously disappeared, and the woman who smells and tastes like his mate is the only backup he has left. He’ll need her, everything he is, everything he was—and everything he might have been—to defeat his evil master and claim the love he never dared hope to have.

Warning: This book contains shadowy assassins shooping off vampire heads, cops bumbling in at the worst of times, and opposites attracting, colliding, and exploding in lust—a.k.a., explicit fighting, humor, and sex.

Boy meets girl. Girl becomes werewolf. Girl's claws scratch paint of boy's Charger. Wait, what?

photo credit: Duchess Flux via photopin cc

A writer who shares my Adult Swim sense of humor sent me this link to Cracked.com's 5 Plot Lines Erotic Novels Desperately Need to Adopt. It takes the recent expansion in erotic romance and not just thinks out of the box but explodes it and stomps on the pieces. If you're not easily offended, there are some great lines.

Naturally, it started me thinking of new ways to combine hackneyed romance memes and make them fresh. Or at least make them funny.

Why is the Big Bad wolf always Red's nemesis? Why can't they be lovers? Wouldn't that be a great twist to an old favorite? (Or Big Bad and Snow White, ala Bill Willingham's Fables :) )

Maybe the story's vampires and zombies. They could debate on who's deader. Or shifters talking about the best way to deal with shedding.


Speaking of shifers--why can't shifters be housecats? Or cute little doggies with pink bows?

Actually, they can :) My big-bad-alpha-wolf-becomes-tiny-terrier story, once titled Alphas Don't Wear Bows and now Heart of the Wolf, has gotten a green light and is scheduled for early 2015. As squirmy-hot as I can make it, it will also be my first paranormal romance all in third person, so I'll be looking for feedback! Here's an unofficial blurb.

Heart of the Wolf (Pull of the Moon, Book 1)
Copyright © 2014 Mary Hughes All rights reserved.

Witch princess, alpha wolf shifter, meddling magical aunt. What could possibly go wrong?

Shifters and witches? Might as well marry a fork and a light socket. So when witch princess Sophia Blue investigates her aunt's disappearance and meets alpha wolf shifter Noah Blackwood, their instant attraction annoys them both.

But Noah needs Sophia. He's been hit with a hex gone horribly wrong--he's a rat terrier by day. Worse, pack malcontents are trying to kill him. Only Sophia can lift the hex, but she's sealed away her magic after a sly warlock abused her trust.

Sophia's stuck. Aunt Linda is missing and Noah is Sophia's only hope of finding her. But the instant hot attraction between them scares her because witch/shifter matings are taboo. And if the Witches Council finds out, it will mean her death.