Hi, this is my first time blogging for TRS and so I thought I’d (briefly) tell you a little bit about me.
I’m an Iron Chef America and Law and Order addict who loves to cook, eat, and read. I wish you could burn a ton of calories being sedentary and eating. Don’t you?
Married for thirty-four years to an amazing man who still astounds me every single day, I’m also the proud mama of three fantastic sons, all of whom are now of legal age. If only they’d stop changing majors in college…
Alpha males, strong heroines, exotic locations, and cultural differences are my forte.
I tend to count my blessings regularly – it keeps me in check when the impending sense of doom that always seems to hover in my mind takes over. But at the end of every year, I actually make a list of all the things for which I should be grateful. My family, friends, readers, and all of you who’ve supported me with this writing gig. Eleven books in two years, and lots of awards:
Manacled in Monaco – Recommended Read from Fallen Angels
D is for Desire – A Coffee Time CTRR award
White Wolf – a CAPA nominee for best paranormal of 2009
A Paratrooper in a Pear Tree – Night Owl Top Pick/Passionate Plume finalist
Carnal in Cannes - A Coffee Time CTRR award
And the above doesn’t include the five star reviews for all of my other books.
All of the above gave me the courage to finally attempt a historical, a favorite reading genre of mine, and my Viking historical The Bear and The Bride was released in December of 2010.
Here’s a small excerpt:
His scent, leather, smoke, and a tang of pine, grew more intense as he strode to table. The aroma seemed to shroud her, until she could no longer discern if any hint of the lavender bath Martha had prepared lingered on her skin. The air in the room seemed to take on substance and weighted her shoulders. Ainslin stared at the knots in the pine table, aware he heard her quick inhales, and warmth blossomed in her cheeks.
I have seen eight and ten summers. I am no green maiden.
She prayed he didn't notice her flushed face, her trembling fingers, or the rapid fanning of her lashes.
"I like not this maiden's pretense of nerves." Using the toe of one boot, he moved the opposite chair back. "We are wed by the king's choice. The alliance is beneficial for both of us."
His arrogance made her teeth snap together. She welcomed the anger, but remained silent.
"What, no protest?"
"Pray continue," she said, her voice dulcet and soft. "I am anxious to know the advantages of becoming a married woman, with no control over my lands or my wealth. As a widow, I enjoyed control of both."
"Your sons need a guardian," he retorted, and reached to the bench along the wall for a clay pitcher and two glass goblets.
"My sons are in Cumbria," she stated. "With no protection save the king's decree."
He set a glass in front of her, poured wine into the green vessel, then filled his goblet, rested the jug on the table, and leaned back in the chair. His lips turned up at the corners, and the fine lines at the corners of his eyes deepened. For the first time, she met his stare full on, and her heart skipped a slew of thumps at the storm in his gray eyes.
* * *
"Nay, my lady," Torsten drawled, stretched his feet below the table, his boots sounding a soft thud in the momentary silence. "Your sons journey to Bear Hall, as we speak."
She gasped and opened her mouth, but didn't voice a word; instead, a rosy hue tinted her flesh, and her gaze dropped from his.
He hooded his eyes, surveying the rising and falling of breasts he dreamed of. Saliva coated his mouth. The famed porcelain skin of her forehead, praised and lauded by the courts' skalds, furrowed, and her tongue flicked at one corner of her mouth.
Torsten yearned to roar his victory to all and sundry. He, the Northern Bear, had wrenched a reaction from Ainslin, the beauty whose frigid temperament 'twas said would freeze the fire-spewing mountains of Ísland.
"No thanks, my lady?"
"The king gave his permission?" She studied her lap.
"I need not his blessing," Torsten replied. "He gave you and yours over to me."
She looked up then, her green eyes flecked gold like a cat's, the brown lashes spiky with moisture, and he clenched his jaw, unwilling to surrender to the lure of her love for the twin sons she had borne another man.
"When?" she asked, setting her fingers on the table's edge.
"A sennight after you began your journey here, I sent my brother to fetch your sons to you." Torsten sipped his wine and watched her carefully, for Ainslin the Frigid had that iron control back in place.
"Why?" She lifted her chin, and the pride the women of the court so envied shone bright from eyes no longer threatened by the womanly weakness of tears.
"I would have something from you." Torsten cursed the coarseness in his voice.
She never flinched. "Pray continue, my lord."
"I would have you warm and willing in my bed."
A huge thanks to TRS and the wonderful team who put together not only a show-stopping interactive site, but also some of the best doggone new release parties around.
May the best of 2010 be the worst of 2011 for everyone!
Cheers,
Jianne Carlo
P.S. I’m running a gift card giveaway contest. Visit my blog leave a comment, and you’re eligible for a gift card to Carraba’s, Outback, or Bonefish grill.
Comment at:www.jiannecarlo.com
