Lissette E. Manning

 

Please Note: Information about the giveaway is found a little further into the post.

 

Thank you so much for having me here, Lissette.  I really appreciate having the time to tell you about my latest release, THE LOST.

THE LOST is the first book in the brand new SIN HUNTERS paranormal romance series.  The HUNTERS are an ancient race that are capable of gathering energy from nature and all kinds of living things around them.  Why such a departure from the usual demons, vampires and other creatures of the night?

Well, I still love vampires and angels which you’ll be able to see from my novella in A VAMPIRE FOR CHRISTMAS.  But I really wanted to try something different as well as create a mythology that would give me lots of possibilities for different powers.  Creating a race of people who could use the energy all around us provided the perfect opportunity for doing that.

With a simple touch, the HUNTERS can take energy and channel it to do things like shape-shifting, traveling across the ions in the cosmos and a host of other things.

I really like one power in particular – the ability to heal!  Why that power?  The heroine in THE LOST is Bobbie Carrera, a Marine who has come from war both emotionally and physically wounded.  Very wounded.  When THE LOST begins, Bobbie has serious pain from an assortment of injuries and even something as simple as walking requires a great deal of effort coupled with pain.

Despite that, Bobbie doesn’t let anything come in the way of trying to get on with her life.  She also doesn’t let it get in the way of helping others and it is her coming to the rescue which brings her together with Adam Bruno, the hero in THE LOST.

Adam’s innocent and surprising touch will begin to heal Bobbie physically, but it is Adam’s honor and giving heart that will help Bobbie with her emotional wounds.

I loved allowing Adam and Bobbie to explore those powers and also find a happily ever after.  I hope you will like it also.

 

Excerpt:

 

FROM THE AUTHOR:  THE LOST is the first book in the new Sin Hunter paranormal romance series.  The Sin Hunters mythology is steeped in the history of the Americas, filled with characters with amazing powers and very sexy and romantic as well.  The premise of the Sin Hunters is that the The Hunters, a race that has existed on this planet for millennia, gathering energy and possessing a wide range of abilities due to that power. From shapeshifting to travel at the speed of light, the Hunters possessed incredible powers that they kept to themselves for centuries. Occasionally the Hunters would breed with the humans, creating hybrids who oftentimes possessed greater intelligence and strength. Because of that they often became the leaders and warriors of the humans.

When the Conquistadors landed on the shores of the Americas, they brought all kinds of illnesses to the indigenous people, including the Hunters. When smallpox contaminates the Hunters, it ignites a civil war between those who have survived the pox–the Light Hunters–and those who are forever blighted by the disease–the Shadow Hunters.

The hero in THE LOST, Adam Bruno, is an heir to this ancient race, although he does not know of their existence at the start of the story.  All he knows is that he possesses unusual powers which have the capability of hurting others and he is trying to understand how to control those powers.

* * * * * *

And now for a little intro to this excerpt featuring Adam Bruno, the hero, and Bobbie Carrera, the heroine.  In this upcoming excerpt, Bobbie and Adam have just survived a battle with two men who were trying to abduct Adam.  During the fight Bobbie, who is rehabilitating from wounds while suffered as a Marine in Iraq, is slightly injured.  When Adam touches her, however, she feels her injuries improve.  In this scene, Bobbie has gone to Adam’s home to speak to him about what happened.

* * * * *

“I’m not much of a drinker.  It dulls the senses and I’ve got enough dullness going on as it is.”

Whether she knew it or not, she skipped her gaze down her arm and to her leg before shooting it back up to stare at him.  “But you changed that.  Or at least, part of it.”

He shook his head, not comprehending.  “Me?  How did I-“

“When you touched me.  You put your hand on my arm and–“

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”  He recalled how in his desire to see that she was okay he had skimmed his fingertips along her arm.  Lost control over his power, letting it leak out as his emotions overruled common sense.

With a strong shake of her head, she cupped his cheek and her touch was already familiar and awoke need in him.  The aura around her body broadened and grew an even richer blue.  Spread onto him as she touched him.  The brightness of it matched the intensity in her golden gaze.

“You helped me.  See,” she said and elevated her left arm, rotated it, flexed and made a tight fist with her hand.  “I couldn’t do this before your touch.”

“That’s not possible.”  His powers had always taken and not given.

She rubbed her thumb along his lips and the scattered bits of energy racing through his body gathered into a molten pool at his center.  Dipped lower as she scooted to the edge of her chair and inched closer to him.

“When you ran your fingers along my skin, I felt warmth.  It turned into sharp tingles and then pins and needles,” she explained and then, as if she wanted to show him, she danced her fingers along the back of his hand.

Her caress awakened him, but not in a healing kind of way.  As she paused and her fingers trembled against his skin, he realized she was experiencing the passion as well.

He wanted to touch her.  Wanted to savor the softness of her skin beneath his fingers, but he feared that contact.  And not just because he might hurt her.  He feared becoming any closer to this woman who was somehow making him want things that weren’t possible for him.

“This isn’t a good idea, Bobbie.”

She stroked her hand up and down his arm and his gut twisted into a painful knot.

“You feel it, don’t you?  The connection?” she asked, her gaze filled with yearning and confusion.  She, too, wanted as much as she feared.

“Whatever this is can only cause problems for both of us.”  But even as he said it, he pressed closer to her, pulled toward her by so many things.  The strength of heart he sensed.  By the femininity encased in her warrior’s body.  And by the temptation of the power swirling all around her, creating a bond he had never encountered before with anyone else.

“I’m not the kind to run from a problem,” she said as she reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, smoothing the short strands into place.  The innocent action stoked alive more need and a sensation like static electricity against his scalp.  As she quickly pulled away, it was a sign that she had sensed the noise from the power as well.

“I kind of gathered that when you helped me in the parking lot,” he said with a chuckle, trying to downplay the way even minimal contact created a charge between them.

“You handled yourself pretty well.  You probably didn’t need my help.”

He hesitated, contemplating just how much to tell her.  Too much and he risked the secrets he and his father had kept for so long.  Not enough and he maybe left her indefensible if the two men decided to come after her as well.

He opted for disclosure, wanting to safeguard her as much as possible.  “Actually, those men were like the two of us.  Different.”

She shook her head.  “I’m not different. I’m—“

She stopped as he ran the tip of his index finger along her lips and made it impossible to deny the sparks that flew from that contact and the way it roused an ache along her sex.  The color of her eyes darkened to amber and she licked her lips nervously.  “Why am I feeling this way?”

“You have an aura.  It’s stronger than any I’ve ever seen, except for possibly the two men from this afternoon,” he explained and because he couldn’t stop touching her, he laid his hands on her bare arms, rubbed them up and down.  It generated yet more electricity and heat between them.  Everywhere he touched, her blue aura danced with silvery light.

Bobbie sucked in a shaky breath, battling the way her body was responding to his caress.  Her nipples were rock hard and between her legs an insistent throb had her damp and achy.  There was no denying his actions were the reason for it, but she needed to maintain a level head.

“Are you saying I’m like them?” she asked and laid her hands against his chest.  As she did so, another wave of power had her biting her lip against the sensations rocketing through her which were mirrored in the rainforest green of his eyes.

“Not quite.  Their touch didn’t make me feel like this,” he admitted.  Beneath the controlled tones of his voice was a low rumble, like thunder in the distance.

She licked her lips and gazed at him again.  Noted the concern and ardor battling in his features as he released her and backed a few feet away, creating needed space, but also a strange sensation of emptiness within her.

He continued with his explanation.  “When they touched me, it was like I had run into an electrified fence.  Intense shocks nearly took me down each time they laid their hands on me.”

“But you got away.  Did you do the same thing when you touched them?” she asked and because she seemed to need something to do with her hands, she picked up the glass of scotch and took a quick sip.  That perfect nose once again twitched in apparent distaste, although she didn’t release her grip on the tumbler.

“I thought there was a jolt when we fought, but I’m not sure.”

“Seems weird that you don’t know what you can do.”  Her training as a Marine had taught her to understand her strengths and avoid any weaknesses.  Years of training and war had honed that awareness of her abilities.

His lips thinned and she realized how her comment could have been taken as condemnation, so she quickly did damage repair.  “In the Marines we were trained to know what we could do.  I’m guessing you weren’t lucky enough to have someone to help you like that.”

“I’ve had no one.”  The pain behind the words was achingly alive.  So much so that she couldn’t ignore it even though the last thing she wanted was to get more involved with him.  She’d already had too much of conflict and wanted nothing more than a peaceful and stable life.

But she couldn’t ignore his pain and so she closed the distance between them and cradled his cheek.  That unnerving chatter of energy greeted her, but she pushed it back as she said, “I’m here now.”

Adam’s stomach did a somersault while his heart constricted almost painfully.  “Now” was so fleeting an instant in time, but he welcomed it.  In the brief moments that Fate had tossed them together, the growing emptiness he had been experiencing had abated.

He locked his gaze with hers-that smoky hot look which ignited heat like that of the finely aged scotch he had tasted earlier.  Shifting his face, her palm was soft against the rasp of his evening beard.  A memory rose up, that of the cat twisting and lifting its head for her caress.  The pleasure that followed.

He wished he could do the same.  Feel her touch across his skin.  Experience the wonder of her kiss, but kissing her…

Kissing her would be insane, he thought in that split second before he made up his mind.

 

 

ABOUT AUTHOR

Caridad Piñeiro® is a multi-published and award-winning author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project – to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since.

From the start, Caridad’s novels have received acclaim and have helped redefine the landscape of modern romance novels. In 1999, Caridad was published by Kensington as part of Encanto, the first line of bilingual Latino romance novels. In 2000, Caridad was one of the first Latino authors featured at the launch of BookExpo America’s Spanish Pavillion. In December 2006, Caridad helped Silhouette launch its successful Nocturne paranormal line with DEATH CALLS, one of the novels in the award-winning THE CALLING Vampire series. In addition, Caridad has appeared at BookExpo America on numerous occasions and has captained both the multicultural and vampire genre panels at the RT BookClub Conventions.

Caridad’s CHICAS novels, including her seventeenth release, SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN from Simon & Schuster’s Downtown Press, have garnered praise from both fellow authors and reviewers and are helping to make Latina fiction a vital part of the publishing mainstream.

In recognition of her work, Caridad has received various awards and honors. In 2007, a year marked by the debut of six novels from Harlequin and Pocket Books, Caridad received the Golden Apple Award Author of the Year Award from the New York City Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Other honors that Caridad has received include the selection of DANGER CALLS and DEATH CALLS as the Top Fantasy Books of 2005 and 2006 by CATALINA magazine, the Cataromance Reviewers Choice Award for Best Nocturne in 2006 and the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf award in 2001 for Best Short Contemporary. Her other titles have received a number of nominations, such as the Harlequin Readers Choice Awards and RIO Reviewers Choice Awards. Both DANGER CALLS and SEX AND THE SOUTH BEACH CHICAS have been book club selections.

Caridad’s eighteenth novel, MOON FEVER, a paranormal anthology with Maggie Shayne, Susan Sizemore and Lori Handeland, debuted in late September 2007 as #32 on the New York Times Extended Bestseller list and #123 on the USA TODAY Bestseller List. HOLIDAY WITH A VAMPIRE, a paranormal anthology with Maureen Child, made the BookScan Top 100 Adult Fiction list.

In 2009, Caridad will debut a new paranormal romantic suspense series with Grand Central Publishing. The first novel in the series, SINS OF THE FLESH, will be released in November 2009.

Caridad has appeared on Romance Novel Television, Fox Television’s Good Day New York Early Edition , New Jersey News’ Jersey’s Talking with Lee Leonard and WGN-TV’s Adelante Chicago. Articles featuring Caridad’s works have appeared in the New York Daily News, Catalina, RT BookClub, NJ Monthly, Star Ledger, Home Tribune News, Sun Sentinel, Variety Yahoo! Online News, Latina and the Waterbury Republican-American.

When not writing, Caridad teaches workshops on various topics related to writing and heads a writing group. Caridad is also an attorney, wife and mother.

 

Also about the Author:

Caridad was born in Havana, Cuba, and settled in the New York Metropolitan area. She attended Villanova University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. Caridad earned her juris doctor from St. John’s University and became the first female partner of Abelman, Frayne & Schwab, an intellectual property firm in midtown Manhattan.

http://www.caridad.com

 

And now for the giveaway. Caridad is giving away a Lost t-shirt and ebook copy of Rookie of the Year.

To enter for a chance at both, all you need do is comment on this post. It’s that easy!

T-shirt contest is open only to US shipping. Don’t forget to post your email address so that Caridad can contact the winner once the giveaway is over.